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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.? 






fj UNITED STATE8 OP AMERICA. ! 



PETEOLEUM, 



AND 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 



WHAT PETROLEOM IS, WHERE IT IS FOUND, AND WHAT IT 

IS USED FOR; WHERE TO SINK PETROLEUM 

WELLS, AND HOW TO SINK THEM. 



WITH 

A COMPLETE GUIDE BOOK 

AND 

DESCRIPTION OF THE OIL REGIONS 

OF 

PENNSYLVANIA, WEST VIRGINIA AND OHIO. 






By J. H. A. BONE. 



Keii) Yorft: 

AMERICAN NEWS COMPANY. 

PHILADELPHIA: J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 

]865. 












Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, "by 

J. H. A. BONE, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 

Northern District of Ohio. 



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f' 



Fairbanks, Benedict & Co., Printers, Herald Office, Cleveland, 0, 



PETROLEUM, 

AND 

PETROLEUM WELLS 



PETROLEUM, ITS DESCRIPTION AND HISTORY. — HOW IT 
IS FORMED AND WHERE IT IS FOUND. 



What Petroleum is, where it is to be found, and' 
what are the causes of its formation, are subjects- 
now engaging the attention of the civilized world, 
and to neither of these questions have perfectly sat- 
isfactory answers yet been given. The name itself 
is from the Latin petra, a rock, and oleum, oil, being 
in fact "rock oil," deriving its name from being found 
in the rocks, or oozing from them. In its natural 
state its composition is very indefinite, consisting of 
various oily hydro-carbons, holding in solution par- 
affine and solid bitumen, or asphaltum. In some sci- 
entific works the fluid petroleum is described under 
the name of "naphtha oil," whilst that having a large 
proportion of asphaltum, is known as "bitumen." 
The latter is of comparatively little value, but the 
fluid petroleum, since the discovery of its manifold 
and important uses, has risen to be one of the most 
important staples. There appears to be no limit to 
its usefulness. The lighter oil, cleansed and purified r 
has come into almost universal request as an illumi- 
nator, surpassing all others, except gas, in brilliancy, 
and also possessing the merit of cheapness. The 
secret of producing gas itself, equal in illuminating; 



* PETROLEUM AND 

power to the best coal gas, produced with much 
greater ease and at less expense, has been discovered 
and put into practice ; whilst, to show the capabili- 
ties of petroleum as an illuminator, the solid residium 
of the refining process is made into paraffine candles. 
As a lubricator for wheels and machinery the heavier 
qualities of petroleum have come into general use. 
Paint oils and varnish are made from it, and the 
benzine is used as a substitute for turpentine. Pe- 
trolized soap is a favorite toilet article. The most 
beautiful and durable colors and shades now in wear 
are obtained from the waste petroleum after refining, 
It has been used with success as a substitute for fish 
oil in tanning. For generations it has proved a val- 
uable medicine applied both externally and inter- 
nally. In fact, there seems to be no limit to its 
usefulness, for new applications of it are frequently 
discovered. 

Petroleum, in one form or another, has been known 
in all ages, and in nearly all parts of the world, al- 
though many of its uses are the discoveries of the 
past tew years. It is mentioned by the ancient Greeks 
and Eomans, being known to the latter under the 
name of "bitumen." At Zante, one of the Ionian 
Islands, is an oil spring, still flowing, which was 
mentioned by Herodotus, more than two thousand 
years ago. In Sicily the ancient inhabitants burned 
petroleum in their lamps insted of fish oil. In the 
* north of Italy it has for nearly two centuries fur- 
nished material for lighting the streets of Genoa and 
Parma. On the shores of the Caspian Sea, at Bakoo 
are extraordinary manifestations of petroleum oil and 
gases. These extend over a tract of country about 
twenty five miles in length, and about half a mile 
wide, in strata of a porous, argillaceous sandstone, 
belonging to the tertiary period. In the vicinity are 
hills of volcanic rocks, through which springs of the 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 

heavier sorts of petroleum flow. Open wells, from 
sixteen to twenty feet deep, are dug, and in these 
the oil gathers as it oozes from the strata. A large 
amount is annually gathered and distributed over 
Persia, where it is exclusively used for illuminating 
purposes, and for the sacred fires. The Rangoon 
district, on the Irrawaddy, is also famous for its 
large product of rock oil, and for centuries the whole 
Burman empire has been supplied with oil from this 
source. The annual yield of petroleum from this 
district is said to be more than 400,000 hogsheads, 
or about tw T o thirds of the export from New York for 
1864. The number of w T ells is 520. The natives use 
the oil as a medicine, burn it in their lamps, and 
grease timber with it to prevent the destructive ope- 
rations of insects. Some of the Burmese oil has been 
sent to England and used in the manufacture of par- 
affine candles. In consistency it resembles the heavy 
lubricating oils of Pennsylvania and Ohio, whilst its 
color, of a greenish brown, is more like that of the 
lighter Pennsylvania oil. Petroleum is frequently 
found in the neighborhood of volcanoes. Around 
the volcanic isles of Cape Verde it is seen floating on 
the water ; and to the south of Vesuvius a spring of 
it rises through the sea. 

But it is in America that the largest deposits of 
liquid petroleum are found. Besides the principal 
reservoirs in Northwestern Pennsylvania, there are 
other deposits, the full value of which have not yet 
been ascertained, in Southwestern Pennsylvania 
Ohio, Western Virginia, Kentucky, New York, Can- 
ada, Kansas, and even California. 

The cause of formation of petroleum and its loca- 
tion in the rocks, are questions that have as yet re- 
ceived no satisfactory solution. According to some 
geologists the oil originates in the coal beds, from 
which it is expelled by pressure, whilst others assert 



6 PETROLEUM AND 

that the coal is formed from the oil, instead of the? 
oil from the coal. In support of both of these theo- 
ries the general resemblance of petroleum to- the- 
oil obtained from the distillation of coal is adduced, 
although there are some minor points of difference, 
But the existence of petroleum does not depend on 
the existence of coal in the same locality; on the con- 
trary, the most productive oil districts are removed 
from the coal fields. In the Pennsylvania oil region 
the wells are entirely outside of the coal field, and 
so remote from it that there can scarcely be any con- 
nection between the oil and coal beds. The strata 
in which the oil is found dip south, and pass below 
the coal measures from five hundred to one thousand 
feet, the nearest coal bed to the more northern oil 
wells capping the highest hills about thirty miles 
distant. 

Other geologists attribute the production of the 
oil to the slow distillation of animal or vegetable 
matter overwhelmed by ancient floods, and impris- 
oned in the rocks formed from the sand or mud in 
which the organic remains were buried. This theory 
presupposes an immense deposit of animal or vegeta- 
ble matter, as the yield of oil has already been very 
large, and but a small portion of the deposit has been 
developed as yet. Another theory accounts for its- 
production by volcanic agencies, but it is not by any 
means confined to the volcanic rocks. Some are dis- 
posed to look on it as a formation of by-gone ages, 
by processes long since terminated, whilst others, 
with a belief in the doctrine that Nature never stops 
in her work, assert that the process of formation is 
still going on, and that the supply is inexhaustible. 
An apparent confirmation of this opinion is found in 
the fact that the wells of Bakoo and Rangoon are as 
productive now as they were centuries ago. Single 
wells have dried up, but new ones have been sunk, j 



PETKOLEUM WELLS. 7 

and the product of the district suffers no diminution. 
This fact should allay the fears of those who are ap- 
prehensive that the American oil regions will soon 
be exhausted. 

Petroleum is found in different parts of the world 
in all the stratified rocks, and in the volcanic and 
metamorphic formations. It is sometimes traced to 
beds of lignite, and sometimes its source cannot be 
discovered. In the United States and Canada the 
sandstones are the most productive of oil. In the 
Pennsylvania oil region the hills are capped with 
conglomerate, lying in geological succession next be- 
low the coal measures. Through this the well is 
bored, passing through alternating layers of shale 
and sandstone, and terminating in sandstone, where 
cavities exist, frequently filled with oil, gas, and salt 
water. The dip of the strata in N. W. Pennsylvania 
is nearly south. In Ohio it is east of south. The 
most productive oil bearing sandstone crops out in 
Ohio a few miles west of Cleveland, and dips gently 
towards the Alleghany river, descending more rapid- 
ly as it gets farther south. In some parts of Oil 
Oreek, and on the Alleghanv there are appearances 
of a slight upheaval, forming cracks and fissures in 
the rocks, and it is here that many borers look most 
hopefully for oil in large quantities. According to 
Prof. Evans, of Marietta, who has given the matter 
much study, the oil is contained in cavities or fissures 
in the rocks, in connection with both water and gas. 
These are arranged, of course, according to their 
weight, the water at the bottom, the oil floating 
thereon, and the gas (often strongly compressed) fills 
the upper part of the cavity. If such a cavity runs 
obliquely from above downward, a well, when bored, 
may strike either the water or the oil, or it may en- 
ter the gas chambers. In the first two cases, if the 
gas be compressed, as it usually is, there will be a 



8 PETROLEUM AND 

spouting well — the water or oil, or both together,, 
being thrown out of the mouth of the boring. When 
the tension of the gas is exhausted, resort must be 
had to pumping, until the cavity is pumped out. 
But in some cases a series of cavities communicate 
by small openings or crevices, in which case a well 
may flow intermittently for a long time, as it is re- 
plenished by percolation through these channels. It 
is not uncommon for intermittent wells to throw out 
at first 300 or 400 barrels a day, or to yield, in all, 
20,000 bbls. They sometimes run two or three 
years before exhaustion. When there is little or no 
gas, or where, from the gas chamber being tapped, 
the gas is lost, pumping has to be resorted to from 
the first. Oil wells commonly vary in depth from 
100 to 800 feet. Oil coming to the surface in springs 
is not a reliable sign of oil cavaties in the immediate 
neighborhood, for it is often carried a long distance- 
by the current of the subterranean streamlets by 
which the springs are fed. 

The oil of different districts varies considerably 
in specific gravity, and consequently in value. The 
lighter oils are more valuable for the purpose of illu- 
mination, and the heavier for lubricators. The Oil 
Creek petroleum is usually about 46° by Baume's hy- 
drometer, being the lightest oil found. At some of 
the wells it increases in density to 38° At Tidi- 
oute, on the upper Alleghany, the Economite well 
oil ranges about 43° At Franklin the range is from 
33° to 36°, and on French Greek and Sugar Creek 
the oil is also heavy, and is valuable as a lubricator. 
The heaviest oil is found at Mecca, O., the density 
being 26° to 27°, and the oil so thick that it will not 
flow in very cold weather. It bears a high price 
from its value as a lubricator. The oil obtained at 
Liverpool, O., is of a similar character. The heavy 
oils are usually found in comparatively shallow wells, 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 9 

ranging from seventy to one hundred and eighty feet, 
whilst the lighter are commonly found several hun- 
dred feet below. The "third sand rock" of the Ven- 
ango County system, in which the largest deposits of 
light oil are found, lies at a depth ranging from three 
hundred to twelve hundred feet. The majority of 
productive wells that have reached the third sand 
Tock, range from four hundred to six hundred feet 
deep. 

The yield of wells producing heavy, or lubricating 
oil, is generally much less than the average of suc- 
cessful wells of lighter oil, but, on the other hand, the 
value of the oil is much greater. A five barrel well 
of Mecca oil is equivalent in value to at least a twen- 
ty barrel well on Oil Creek. This fact must be borne 
in mind when comparing the value of wells in differ- 
ent localities. The "flowing wells" of large capacity 
run the lighter grades of oil, the heavy oils requiring 
to be pumped. 

With regard to the condition of surface beneath 
which oil is most likely to be found in paying quan- 
tities, there is as much difference of opinion as there 
is in relation to the formation of the oil. In some 
places on Oil Creek, for instance, wells sunk on the 
flat bottom land are the most productive, and those 
sunk in the side hill, or near it, find but little oil, 
whilst on the next tract the reverse of this becomes 
the rule. In and near Cherry Run several wells 
have been sunk far up the steep bluffs, and have 
.proved successful. There appears to be no rule in 
•the matter without a large number of exceptions, 



10 PETROLEUM AND 



THE HISTORY OF PETROLEUM ON OIL CREEK 



The existence of oil in the valley of Oil Creek, im 
Venango County, Pennsylvania, was known for very- 
many years. The Indians, from time immemorial, re- 
sorted to the valley at stated seasons to gather the- 
oil for medical purposes ; and the work of procuring 
it was prefaced and concluded with, dances and other' 
ceremonies. The oil bubbled up in mid stream in. 
many places, and was obtained by throwing a blank- 
et on the water, and, after it became saturated, 
squeezing the oil into the vessels prepared to receive- 
it. The early settlers also used it as a medicine in 
cases of rheumatism, and it was frequently sold in 
druggists' shops for the same purpose, under the name 
of " Seneca Oil." An article in the " Massachusetts 
Magazine" for July 1791, describes the oil springs in 
what was even then known as Oil Creek, and says 
that the American troops, in their marching that 
way, halted at the spring, collected the oil, and bath- 
ed their joints with it. This gave them great relief, 
and freed them immediately from the rheumatic com- 
plaints with which many of them were affected. The 
troops also drank freely of the waters, which opera- 
ted as a gentle purge. 

About twelve years ago some attention was direct- 
ed in different parts of the world to the subject of 
petroleum, or rock oil, and search was made for it in 
various directions. Among other places Oil Creek 
became the object of attention, and a company was: 
formed to procure oil from the oil spring, the exist- 
ence of which had become known to a large number- 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 11 

of persons. Nothing was done, however, until in 
1858, Col. Drake, of New Haven, Connecticut, visited 
the valley, and set about sinking a well on Watson's 
Flats, about a mile and a half below Titusville. The 
first well was unsuccessful, and another was sunk 
This was a success. The drill struck an oil cavity at 
a depth of seventy-one feet, and, on the tools be- 
ing withdrawn, the oil rose to within five in<mes of 
the surface. It was pumped off, and yielded at first 
four hundred, and afterwards a thousand gallons of 
oil per day. 

As may be imagined, the excitement in the valley 
was very great. Every one that held land in the 
vicinity of the Drake well made preparations for 
sinking wells on his own account, or leased to others 
a right to sink wells, reserving to himself a royalty 
of from one-eighth to one quarter the oil. Derricks 
were hastily put up, and "spring poles" fixed, all of 
the early wells being sunk by hand. Some of the 
wells were successful, but by far the larger portion 
obtained no oil at all, or in such small quantities as 
to be unremunerative. The demand was small, the 
use tq which the oil was put being as yet very limit- 
ed. Still, several of the adventurers were making 
fair wages, when the discovery of flowing wells revo- 
lutionized matters. Pumping oil at the rate of five 
to twenty barrels a day was a discouraging process 
when, at another well, the oil was running spontane- 
ously as many hundreds as the others were pumping 
single barrels. The glut of the market, caused by 
the flowing wells, and the consequent depression in 
prices, rendered the continuance in operation of the 
pumping wells a losing speculation, and nearly all of 
them were abandoned. The lessees fled in despair, 
in many instances leaving their machinery behind 
them, and not stopping to surrender their leases. 
Some of the abandoned wells have since been success- 



12 PETROLEUM AND 

fully worked, and more would be, but from the im- 
possibility of getting at the holders of the old leases, 
and the fear to commence operations lest, at an un- 
seasonable moment, the lessees should return. 

The first flowing well ever struck was on the Mc- 
Elhinney or Funk Farm, and was known as the Funk 
Well, Funk was a poor man- when the well was 
sunk. It was struck June, 1861, and commenced 
flowing, to the astonishment of all the oil borers in 
the neighborhood, at the rate of two hundred and 
fifty barrels a day. Such a prodigal supply of grease 
upset all calculations, but it was confidently pre- 
dicted that the supply would soon cease. It was an 
"Oil Greek humbug," and those who had no direct 
interest in the well looked day after day to see the 
stream stop. But, like the old woman who sat down 
by the river side to let the water run itself out that 
she might cross dry shod., they waited in vain. The 
oil continued flowing with but little variation for fif- 
teen months, and then stopped, but not before Funk 
became a very rich man. 

But, long before the Funk had given out, the won- 
der in regard to it was overshadowed by a nev^sen- 
sation. Down on the Tarr Farm the Phillips Well 
burst forth with a stream of two thousand barrels 
daily. Not to be outdone by the territory down the 
Creek, the McElhinney tract " saw '' the Tarr Farm, 
and "went it a thousand better." The Empire Well, 
close to the Funk, suddenly burst forth with its three 
thousand barrels daily, a figure subsequent flowing 
wells, vainly endeavored to equal. 

The owners were bewildered. It was truly "too 
much of a good thing." The real value of petroleum 
had not yet been discovered, and the market for it 
was limited. Foreigners would have nothing to do- 
with the nasty, greasy, combustible thing. Our own 
people were divided in opinion. Some thought it a 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 13 

dangerous thing, to be handled at arm's length, 
whilst others set it down as a humbug in some way 
or other, of which the community should keep as shy 
as possible. The supply w T as already in advance of 
the demand, but the addition of three thousand bar- 
rels a day was monstrous and not to be endured. 
The price fell to twenty cents a barrel, then to fif- 
teen, then to ten. Coopers would sell barrels for 
cash only, and refused to take their pay in oil or in 
drafts against oil shipments. Finally it was impossible 
to obtain barrels on any terms, for all the coopers in 
the surrounding country could not make barrels as 
fast as the empire could fill them. The owners were 
in despair and tried to choke off their confounded 
well, but it would not be choked off. Then they built 
a dam around it and covered the soil with grease, but 
the oil refused to be clammed, and rushed into the 
stream, making Oil Creek literally worthy its name. 
For nearly a year it flowed, and then dropped to a 
pumping well, yielding about a. hundred barrels. 
Lately it stopped, but on the application of an air 
pump, it revived, and is now steadily increasing its 
product. 

The Sherman "Well, which was the next great 
lt flowing well," was put down in the spring of 1862. 
It was sunk under great difficulties. J. W. Sherman, 
who was the original owner, commenced sinking it 
on the Foster Farm, next above the McElhinney, 
with very limited means, his wife furnishing the 
money. After a while it became necessary to procure 
an engine, but there was no mcney to make the pur- 
chase, and two men, who were in possession of the de- 
sired article, were admitted to a share for the engine. 
Soon after, when but a few feet more were necessary 
to reach the supposed deposit of oil, the funds were 
exhausted. A sixteenth interest was offered for $100, 
and refused. Ultimately it was sold for $60 and an 



14 PETROLEUM AND 

old shot gun. A horse became necessary during the 
work, and a share was disposed of for the animal. At 
last, when all the means that could be raised by bor- 
rowing or selling were about exhausted, oil was 
struck, and flowed at the rate of fifteen hundred bar- 
rels a day. The flow continued at this rate for seve- 
ral months, when it declined to seven hundred bar- 
rels. For twenty-three months the well continued 
flowing, and then it stopped. For the first year 
the proprietors made but little, if anything, owing to 
the low price of oil and the difficulty of getting it to 
market, but, during the second year, the market im- 
proved, and an immense fortune was realized. The 
well now pumps from thirty to forty barrels daily. 

On the East side of the Creek from the Foster 
Farm is the Farrei Farm. Farrell was a poor man, 
'employed in hauling oil, and was offered one-eighth 
interest in the land for $200. In March, 1863, the 
Caldwell well was struck on that farm, not far from 
the Sherman well, and flowed twelve hundred barrels 
daily. Two months afterwards, the well now known 
as the Noble and Delamater, but then as the Farrei 
well, close to the Caldwell, struck oil, and commenced 
flowing at the rate of two thousand barrels daily. 
The column of oil spouted up fifty feet, with a roar 
like that of a hurricane. For some days the oil ran 
to waste, there being no possibility of controlling its 
flow. As soon, however, as its first fury was spent, 
.a stop-cock was put on, and the flow reduced to a 
'stream of the dimensions of a two and a half inch 
tube. 

In the early days of oil enterprise, and after the 
yield had become large, considerable difficulties 
existed in getting the oil to a market. There were 
no railways to carry it off, and the only plan was to 
float it down the Creek to the Alleghany, and ship it 
thence by steamer or flat boat to Pittsburgh. When 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 

the Atlantic and Great Western Kail way was built 
to Meadville, a large number of barrels were hauled 
across the country by teams to that place, and ship- 
ped thence to New York. 

The supply of flat boats on the creek and river 
was far too small for the requirements of the oil 
trade. When boats could not be had the oil barrels- 
were formed into a raft and lashed together. In this 
way they were floated, or towed, down to the mouth 
of the creek, where they were either loaded on 
steamers or towed to Pittsburgh. At times the 
great need was barrels. When this was the case the- 
flat boats were made oil tight, and the oil poured in- 
to them in bulk. When there was not sufficient 
water in the creek, a large dam was made, and at an 
appointed time a pond freshet swept boats and rafts 
down to the river. Sometimes amusing, but expen- 
sive, casualities resulted from these pond freshets. An 
unskillful boatman occasionally got his boat in the 
wrong position, and the whole mass of boats, rafts,. 
and floating tanks were thrown into confusion.. 
Rafts were broken up, tank boats stove in, and art 
immense amount of property destroyed. 

A far more dreadful disaster more frequently 
happened. With the oil from flowing wells a large 
amount of highly inflammable gas escapes. The ut- 
most precaution is generally taken to prevent any 
fire being brought into contact with the gas, but ac- 
cidents are sometimes unavoidable. The first rush 
of gas, on a flowing well being struck, occasionally 
enters the engine shed, and takes fire from the fur- 
nace. A terrific explosion follows, and every thing; 
in the vicinity is wrapped in flames. When a well 
takes fire in this way it is very difficult to extinguish 
it. Water appears to have no effect, the only effect- 
ual way to extinguish the flames being to turn on 
steam, or stop the well hole by throwing dirt on it — 



16 



PETROLEUM AND 



a rather difficult task to perform in the near presence 
of an intensely hot " pillar of fire. " Several of the 
leading wells have been on fire, and much damage 
done. Several times the boats on the creek took fire, 
and, breaking from their moorings, swept down 
stream, carrying devastation with them. A terrible 
fire of this kind occurred May 12th, 1863, when a 
great number of boats, loaded with oil in bulk and 
barrels, were on fire, and endangered the existence of 
Oil City. They swept down the Alleghany, destroy- 
ing every thing with which they came in contact. 
The bridge across the Alleghany at Franklin was 
totally consumed. The construction of railways to 
the oil district, from Cory and Meadville, by lessen- 
ing the necessity for boats and rafts, have greatly 
diminished the risks by freshets and fires. 

In briefly sketching the history of a few of the 
flowing wells, only those of the earlier and more fa- 
mous have been selected. A number of other flow- 
ing wells have made their possessors wealthy, and 
some have attained considerable notoriety. 

The change in the fortunes of the original owners 
of property in the oil regions must be a source of 
wonder to themselves, as it is to every one else. The 
so-called "farms" on Oil Creek never produced 
enough to give decent support to those who lived on 
them. The residents on the creek led a rough life, 
generally eking out their livelihood by rafting lum- 
ber to Pittsburgh, and bringing from that city such 
articles as they needed. So poor were many of them 
that they were compelled to foot it home from Pitts- 
burgh, for want of means to pay for a conveyance. 
The revenue derived from oil leases on their lands, 
and fortunate speculations in oil and territory, have 
made all of them wealthy, many of them millionaires. 
Land that six years since was not worth ten dollars 
an acre, has in some instances brought as many 
thousands. 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 17 

Until recently, the wells in the Pennsylvania oil 
regions were owned by single adventurers, or by a 
iew men associated together. The disadvantages in 
this mode of working were many and great. An ad- 
venturer who found his money and labor expended 
in the production of a " dry hole," rarely possessed 
means, or perseverance enough, to sink another well 
in the neighborhood. The well was abandoned, and 
gave a bad reputation to the whole neighborhood. 
With the present systems of joint stock companies, 
able to prosecute their work in spite of two or three 
failures, old property is more thoroughly developed, 
and the merits of new oil bearing territory properly 
tested. The individual profits are not always so 
great, nor are the individual failures so ruinous. Oil 
mining becomes less a game of chance, and takes its 
place among those branches of business that offer a 
good prospect of profitable returns for the investment 
made in them. 

The growth of the petroleum business is indicated 
in some degree by the following summary of exports 
in 1862-3-4. The exports in 1861 were small and 
no accurate account was kept of them. It must be 
borne in mind that the consumption in the United 
-States is very large and rapidly increasing ; in fact, 
petroleum has become almost a necessary of life 
with us. 

TOTAL EXPORT IN 1864, 1863, AND 1862. 

1864. 1863. 1862. 

Gallons. Gallons. Gallons. 

From New York 21,335,784 19,547,604 6,720,273 

Boston 1,696,307 2,049,431 1,071,375 

Philadelphia 7,760,148 5,395,738 2,800,973 

Baltimore 929,971 915,866 174,830 

Portland 70,762 342,0*2 120,250 

Total export from the 
United States 31,792,972 28,250,721 1 0,887,701 



18 PETROLEUM AND 

There was also exported, in 1864, from Cleveland 
direct to Liverpool 80,000 gallons refined. 

AVERAGE PRICES FOR 1864 AND 1863. 

Refined, Refined Naphtha 

Crude. free. in bond, refined. 

Average 1864. . . . 4,181 7,461 6,503 3,954 

Agerage 1863. . . . 2,813 5,174 4,415 2,853 



PETKOLEUM WELLS. 19 



HOW OIL WELLS AEE BORED AND WORKED. 



The individual or company intending to bore for 
oil, either purchases the land in fee simple, or obtains 
an " oil lease." At the present time the purchase 
of land in fee simple is mostly effected by companies, 
the high price put on oil bearing lands rendering it 
almost impossible for individuals to obtain a tract of 
any considerable dimensions. 

Of the tract thus purchased but a small propor- 
tion, generally, consists of what is now considered 
"borable territory," namely, the flat land bordering 
on the river or creek, and sides of a ravine, or bank 
of a stream. The remainder is usually high bluffs, 
valuable in proportion to the amount of wood obtain- 
able for fuel. Some companies work their own pro- 
perty, whilst others grant oil leases to individuals or 
other companies. 

An " oil lease" grants to the lessee a right to bore 
within certain limits for "oil salt; or other minerals," 
the work to be commenced within a given time, and 
" to be prosecuted with all reasonable dilligence." If 
these conditions are not complied with the land re- 
verts to the owner of the fee simple. Some of the 
leases granted in 1860 and 1861 were loosely drawn 
up, and made no provision for the reversion of the 
property in case of the abandonment of the works, 
and it is no unfrequent thing, after an old well has 
been taken by new adventurers and made successful, 
for the original lessee to make his appearance and 
claim compensation. If the new proprietors do not 
comply, an injunction is obtained, and, rather than 



20 PETROLEUM AND 

have the work stopped for months until the case- 
comes up for trial, the victims are generally willing 
to compromise. In the beginning of the oil enter- 
prises on Oil Creek, as now in some of the new oil 
territory, the owner of the fee obtained, as compen- 
sation for granting the lease, a royalty, or "landed 
interest," of one sixth or one-fourth the oil raised, 
leaving the remainder, or " working interest," to 
bear all the expenses. At the present time, on Oil 
Creek, the landed interest obtains one half the oil on 
all new leases, and in some very desirable locations a 
bonus is demanded in addition. It will be readily 
seen that the owner of the "landed interest" gets the 
lion's share, receiving half the products without be- 
ing at any expense for working. The royalty was 
formerly paid in kind, but is now usually settled by 
taking half the value of the sale of oil. Should the- 
lessee abandon his adventure he is allowed to remove 
his derrick and engine. 

Having bought or leased a location, the next step 
is to select the exact point for boring. In this the 
experienced worker is guided, to some extent, by the- 
nature of the soil and the position of the ground. A 
new class of people has sprung into existence under 
the cognomen of "oil smellers," who profess to be- 
able to ascertain the proper spot for boring by smell- 
ing the earth. Some of them practice considerable 
mummery in order to mystify and impress their em- 
-ployers. The "witch hazel" is also frequently used, 
the professional locater of wells marching solemnly 
along, holding his hands apart with one end of a. 
forked hazel in each. On passing over an oil spring 
or basin, the point at the junction of the forks* 
suddenly deflects towards the earth, and there the 
work is commenced. As the witch hazel has the 
property — according to believers in its powers — of" 
rinding streams of water in the same manner, it some- 



PETKOLEUM WELLS. 21 

times happens that water, instead of oil, proves to be 
the product of the well. 

The exact spot being determined, a huge derrick is 
erected immediately over it. This is a square frame 
of timbers, substantially bolted together, making an 
enclosure about forty feet high, and about ten feet at 
the base, tapering somewhat as it ascends. This is 
generally boarded up a portion of the distance to shel- 
ter the workmen. A grooved wheel or pulley hangs 
at the top, and a windlass and crank are at the base. 
A. short distance from the derrick a small steam 
engine, either stationary or portable, is fixed, and 
covered with a rough board shanty ; a pitman rod 
connects the crank of the engine with one end of a 
large wooden walking beam, placed midway between 
the engine and the derrick, the beam being pivoted 
on its centre about twelve feet from the ground. The 
walking beam is a rude imitation of that of a side- 
wheel steamer. A rope attached to its other end 
passes over the pulley at the top of the derrick, 
and terminates immediately over the intended hole. 
A cast-iron pipe, from 4 J to 5 inches in diameter, is 
driven into the surface ground, length following 
length until the rock is reached. In the older wells 
the ground was dug out to the rock, and a wooden 
tube put in it. The earth having been removed from 
the interior of the pipe the actual process of boring or 
drilling is commenced. Two huge links of iron, 
called " jars" are attached to the end of the rope. 
At the end of the lower link a long and heavy iron 
pipe is fixed, and in the end of this is screwed the 
drill, about three inches in diameter, and a yard 
long. When all is ready the drill and its heavy at- 
tachments are lowered into the tube and the engine 
set in motion. With every elevation of the derrick 
end of the walking beam, the drill strikes the rock, 
the heavy links of the "jars" sliding into each other 
and thus preventing a jerking strain on the rope. 



22 PETROLEUM AND 

The rock as it is pounded mixes in a pulverized con- 
dition with the water constantly dropping into the 
hole, and assumes a pasty form. After a w T hile the 
drill is hoisted out and a sand pump dropped into 
the hole. The sand pump is a copper tube, about 
five feet long, and a little smaller than the drill, hav- 
ing a valve in its bottom opening upwards and in- 
wards. As the tube is dropped into the hole the 
pasty mass rushes into it through the valve and re- 
mains there. When this has been done several times 
the tube is hoisted out and emptied, the operation 
being repeated until the hole is clear, when the work 
of drilling recommences. It is evident that as the 
drill is not round at the point, but with a chisel 
shaped edge, the hole would not be round unless 
some other means were adopted. This is partially 
accomplished by the borer, who sits on a seat about 
six or eight feet above the hole, and holds a handle 
fixed to the rope, giving the latter a half twist at 
every blow. By this means a nearer approach to a 
cylindrical hole is attained. But the hole must be 
as nearly round as possible, and therefore the tools 
are taken out, and a "rimnier," or "reamer, " sent 
down which cuts down the irregularities of the hole. 

In the earlier days of well boring, as now in some 
localities, the wells w T ere sunk by hand, or by horse 
power. In the former case a stiff spring pole, firmly 
secured at one end, lifted the drill and rods sus- 
pended from its free end, and the power w r as applied 
to this end to make it suddenly descend. Two men, 
standing together, placed each a foot in a double 
stirrup suspended from the pole, and suddenly bore 
it down. Immediately it sprang up, and the opera- 
tion was repeated. This was a tedious and laborious 
operation, and has been generally abandoned. 

As the holes get down to points where the first in- 
dications of oil are reached the contents of the sand 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 23 

pumps are anxiously examined. The oil borers have 
a geological system of their own, the prominent points 
of which are three layers of sandstone. The " first 
sandstone" lies immediately blow the alluvial de- 
posit. The "second sandstone" is at a variable depth 
of 100 to 300 feet, and here the first indications of 
oil was reached. Some wells go no lower than the 
second sandstone, but the general plan is to go down 
into the " third sandstone," where the largest and 
most reliable deposit of oil is found. 

It frequently happens that the drill breaks and 
falls off, and becomes fixed in the hole. Nothing can 
be done until the tool is removed. The remaining 
portion of the boring instrument is taken off, and a 
pair of nippers or clamps let down into the hole to 
grip the broken drill and extract it. Some men 
make the extraction of tools a special business, and 
exhibit great ingenuity in their devices to overcome 
the difficulties they have to encounter. There are 
instances where wells have had to be abandoned in 
consequence of the tools remaining immovably fixed 
in the hole. 

When the hole has been sunk to a sufficient depth 
and "strike ile, ;> the next thing is to extract it from 
the well. If a flowing well has been struck all trou- 
ble on this head is saved, as the oil and gas rush out 
in a stream, sometimes with such violence that the 
men have to make their arrangements with consid- 
erable rapidity, or the precious fluid runs to waste. 
If, on the contrary, it is a pumping well, an iron 
pipe, with a valve at the bottom like the lower valve 
of a pump, is run down the entire depth of the well, 
the necessary length being obtained by screwing the 
sections firmly together. A pump box, attached to 
a wooden rod, also made of sections screwed into 
each other, is inserted in the tube, and the upper end 
of the rod attached to the "walking beam." The 
well is now ready for pumping. 



24 PETROLEUM AND 

One important feature in the tubing process must 
not be forgotten. In boring for oil, springs of water 
are of coarse cut through and the water falls into the 
hole. Being heavier than the oil it lies at the bot- 
tom, and would enter the pump tube but for a very 
ingenious contrivance known as the seed-bag. This 
is a leather bag, in shape something like a boot leg, 
filled with flax seed, which is fastened around the 
iron tube at what is considered "Ike proper point, and 
crowded down with it. When the seed-bag becomes 
wet it swells and thus forms a water tight packing 
between the tube and the rock. At times the seed- 
bag slips or bursts, the w T eli at once fills with water, 
and the tubing has to be pulled in order to refix the 
seed-bag. 

More or less gas accompanies the oil in its passage 
to the surface. If a flowing well, the gas is allowed 
to escape, there being no use for it, and it can be 
distinctly seen puffing out of the pipe, generally with 
labored breathings or panting, the cause of which is 
known among the operators as the " breathings of the 
earth," in reality being the irregular obstructions to 
its passage by the unequal flow of oil in the bottom 
of the hole. The passage of the oil from a large flow- 
ing well is a curious and interesting sight. 

In many of the pumping wells the gas is saved 
and used, either by itself or with coal, as fuel for the 
engine. To save it, the mingled gas, oil and water, 
— : for in spite of all precautions some water will 
come up from nearly every pumping well— is con- 
ducted by a pipe from the well tube into a tight bar- 
rel. The oil and water fall into the bottom of the 
barrel, and run off by a pipe near the bottom into a 
huge tank or vat, where another separation is caused 
by the different gravities of the two fluids, the water 
sinking to the bottom of the vat. The gas escapes 
by a small pipe at the top of the barrel, and is con- 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 25 

ducted into the furnace, where it burns with a fierce 
and steady flame. The engine of the Forest City 
well, as also many other wells, is run entirely by 
gas, the jet being spread into a broad and waving 
flame by passing through a piece of sheet iron pierced 
with holes. Its steadiness is shown by the fact that 
the engine house is lit with several jets of gas, of a 
steadier and purer flame than that furnished by some 
gas companies. 

The oil, as it flows into the tank, is a dark green 
fluid. When sold for shipment it is drawn off by a 
faucet in the bottom into barrels. In the larger 
wells, where a considerable quantity of oil is kept on 
hand before sale, ranges of vats are built, the oil 
flowing from one to the other. The vats are covered 
with boards, and at the larger wells roofed in to pre- 
vent evaporation. At the gassy wells great care has 
to be taken with regard to fire, as a lighted cigar 
might set fire to the gas and blow up the whole con- 
cern. In the early days of the flowing wells, before 
their nature was thoroughly known, serious confla- 
grations took place from this cause. Should a well 
take fire, water not only fails to extinguish it, but 
seems to add to the fury of the flame. 

A new process of boring is on trial at the Gillette 
Company's wells, on the McElhiney tract, under the 
management of Mr. J. T. Briggs. The process is of 
French invention, and the patentee personally su- 
perintends its working. This is the first time it has 
ever been tested, and the progress of the experiment 
is watched with great interest by well owners. The 
principle is that of cutting out a hole instead of 
pounding it. The drill is circular and hollow, being 
a thin tube, set at its lower edge with Brazilian dia- 
monds, of hardness sufficient to cut glass. It is con- 
nected by an iron rod to beveled cog wheels attached 
by cranks and rods to the walking beam of the en- 



26 PETROLEUM AND 

gine. The surface of the upper rock being cleared, 
the drill sits on it and revolves with great rapidity, 
cutting its way down at a rate astonishing to old 
well borers, and leaving a central core standing. A 
clanip is let down which grips the core and jerks it 
up in the form of a perfectly smooth cylinder. Wa- 
ter is poured down the hole to assist the cutting 
process, until the natural flow from the springs cut 
supplies the want. The portions of the core shown 
exhibited the stratification of the rock, and will go 
far to settle some vexed questions about the strata 
which cannot be ascertained by the ordinary method 
of drilling. 

Five feet of rock had been cut at the rate of four 
inches in five minutes, or ninety -six feet per day, 
when some changes were required in the machine, 
and it was removed for alteration. The patentee is 
satisfied that he can put down a well five hundred 
feet in ten days, at no greater cost to the well owner 
than by the present tedious process, which takes 
from two to four months. 

It sometimes happens that after a well has been 
yielding for months its stops and refuses to yield an- 
other drop. This is occasioned in some instances by 
the thickening of the paraffine at the bottom of the 
hole, and the consequent obstruction to the flow of 
the oil into the pump box. To remedy this a jet of 
steam from the engine is introduced and forced down 
the hole, melting the coagulated mass, and restoring 
the flow into the pump. Another plan, which is 
coming into use, and which has so far proved suc- 
cessful at the Empire, is to use an air pump, with 
two pipes inserted into the tube of the well. The air 
is forced down one pipe into the vein at the bottom, 
and the oil rushes up in a steady stream through the 
other. Both these processes are as yet but experi- 
ments, although the air pump has been so far sue- 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 27 

cessful, and has proved much superior to the ordi- 
nary pumping process in producing an abundant and 
steady yield. 

The cost of sinking a well, including purchase of 
engine, tools, and every necessary, ranges from six 
to nine thousand dollars, according to location, depth 
of well, size of engine, &c. The second well can be 
sunk at less than half the expense, by using the 
same engine and tools. 






28 PETROLEUM AND 



THE PENNSYLVANIA OIL REGION— THE PRINCI- 
PAL OIL LOCALITIES AND HOW TO 
REACH THEM, 



Pennsylvania is the greatest oil producing State 
in America, or the world, and Venango county is 
the principal oil region of Pennsylvania. Some de- 
velopments of oil have been made in Crawford, Cla- 
rion, and Fayette counties, but so far, Venango 
county has been the chosen seat of empire of King 
Petroleum. If a line be drawn nearly through the 
centre of the county, running from north to south, 
tending a little west, it will pass along Oil Creek, 
the central and most productive portion oi the oil 
territory. From Franklin, a few miles below where 
Oil Creek joins the river, the Alleghany to the east, 
and French Creek to the west, form a huge V, with 
Oil Creek passing down the middle and joining the 
right arm of the V just above the point of junction 
Below this point the Alleghany stretches, converting 
the V into a Y. The centre, or Oil Creek line, is 
that of the greatest yield at present, the others not 
having been so extensively worked. The first dis- 
coveries of oil were made on Oil Creek, and for some 
time explorations were confined to that line. The 
success there met with induced others to examine 
into the oil-producing qualities of the adjoining 
streams, and a number of holes were sunk on the 
banks of the Alleghany River, French Creek, Sugar 
Creek, (an affluent of the French,) and some of the 
"runs," or small streams, tributary to the several 
creeks. 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 29 

Beginning at the point where the Alleghany 
crosses the Venango county line, a short distance be- 
low Tideoute, (the highest point of oil operations on 
the river) the oil line stretches along the banks of 
the Alleghany, in its sinuous course, for about sixty 
miles, during no part of which distance would a 
voyager be out of sight of the derrick of an oil well, 
past, present, or prospective. After entering the 
Venango county lines, the principal streams dis- 
charging into the Alleghany on its way south, are 
the East Hickory and Little Hickory on the east ; 
West Hickory on the west ; Tionesta and Little Tio- 
nesta, Hemlock Creek with its branch known as Por- 
cupine Run, on the east; Culbertson's Run and Pit- 
hole Creek on the west ; Horse Creek on the east ; 
Oil Creek, Two Mile Run, and French Creek on the 
west ; East Sandy on the east ; Big Sandy, Big 
Scrub Grass and Little Scrub Grass on the west. 
Besides these there are numerous smaller streams 
that have not yet attained notice for their oil bear- 
ing qualities. All the streams mentioned have be- 
come oil locations, and on each of them the work of 
pumping or boring is going on with great activity. 

From the mouth of Oil Creek to Titusville, just 
across the Crawford county line, is a distance of 
twenty miles, along the whole of which the wells are 
thickly planted. Ascending the stream, Cornplanter 
Run heads off towards the north west, Cherry Run 
to the north east, Cherry Tree Run, and Weikel Run 
which branches from it, to the north west ; and Ben- 
nehoff 's Run to the west. Just below Titusville, Oil 
Creek forks to the east and west. All the tributa- 
ries of Oil Creek are oil producing, and are crowded 
with wells. 

French Creek, one of the largest affluents of the 
Alleghany in Venango county, comes in from the 
north west. A number of wells are scattered along 



30 PETROLEUM AND 

its banks. Sugar Creek enters French Creek from 
the east about three miles above Franklin, and is 
now a favorite oil locality. 

Meadville is the central point of departure from 
which to reach any part of the Venango county oil 
regions. From it the traveler can enter Oil Creek 
at either the Oil City or Titusville end. The best 
route is by way of Franklin and Oil City. Arriving 
at Meadville by the Atlantic and Great Western 
Eailroad, the visitor can obtain a comfortable night's 
rest and an excellent breakfast at the McHenry 
House, the hotel in the depot building. Taking the 
Franklin Branch cars a little before eight o'clock in 
the morning, the distance to Franklin, twenty-eight 
miles, is done in something under two hours and a 
half. The railway follows the course of French 
Creek throughout, affording in summer a series of 
picturesque scenes. The last five or six miles of the 
route is lined with oil wells, nearly all put down in 
1860 and 1861, and abandoned. A few have re- 
sumed work. 

From Franklin to Cooperstown, on Sugar Creek, 
is about eight miles over a fair road. Conveyances 
can be had in Franklin. A nearer route to Coopers- 
town is to leave the train at Utica station, nineteen 
miles from Meadville, and take the road across. 
This will save from two to three miles, but the 
chances of obtaining conveyance across are not many, 
as there are no livery stables in Utica. 

Horses or conveyances of some kind can be ob- 
tained in Franklin to visit the Alleghany below, or 
to reach Oil City. The visitor must not rely too 
much on this, however, as the great rush of people 
to the oil regions makes a greater demand for con- 
veyances than can be met by the limited supply. 
As might be supposed under such circumstances, 
prices rule extravagantly high. Livery stable keep- 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 31 

ers charge about ten per cent, on the value of a horse 
when letting it out for a day. The Alleghany below 
Franklin is very crooked, and the distance by the 
river bank is much greater than by the roads that 
keep at a short distance from the stream. 

Unless prevented by ice, the communication be- 
tween Franklin and Oil City is kept up by a daily 
steam packet, the " Petrolia No. 2," which leaves 
Franklin on the arrival of the morning and evening 
trains, leaving Oil City on return, about 8 A. M. and 
3 P. M. The Franklin Branch Eailroad will short- 
ly be open to Oil City, which is seven miles from 
Franklin. 

From Oil City, up the Alleghany, there is a road 
hugging the river bank, and crossing the river by 
ferries at several points where the steep bluffs block 
the way. To reach Pithole Creek, and the river 
above that point, the best route is to go from Oil 
City to Plumer, seven miles, and turning to the right 
from the centre of the village, cross Pithole Creek, 
and strike the river at Culbertson's Kun. From this 
point a good road extends along either bank. Two 
villages are passed on the road before reaching the 
northern line of Venango county. At President, 
near the mouth of Hemlock Creek, a large hotel has 
recently been built. At the mouth of Tionesta 
Creek is the village of Tionesta. Both these villages 
are on the east side of the river. From Oil City to 
Hickory Creek is about twenty eight miles. 

From Oil City up Oil Creek to Titusville the choice 
lies between horse back and foot travel. The best 
way, on every account, is to walk. The horses be- 
tray few traces of Arabian blood, and their habits 
are too devotional for comfort or safety. The great- 
er number drop on their knees at every opportunity. 
By going on foot the visitor can see more, and, in 
many instances, travel faster than on horseback. 



32 PETROLEUM AND 

From Oil City to Shaeffer's Farm, where the Oil! 
Creek Railroad is first reached, is about twelve and 
a half miles of about the worst road — or rather no- 
road — in the United States. There are several stop- 
ping places on the route, Eouseville, McClintock- 
ville and Petroleum Centre having tavern accom- 
modations — such as they are. At Shaeffer's Farm 
the train can be taken in the evening for Titusville, 
seven miles, and, early next morning, from Titus- 
ville to Corry, twenty eight miles, and back to 
Meadvilie, forty two miles farther. 

Every where the visitor must be prepared for- 
rough living and hard lodging, if fortunate enough 
to obtain lodging. When intending to stop at night 
at any particular place, telegraph in the morning to- 
engage a bed. By doing so you will have a slight 
chance of obtaining half a bed. If this is neglected 
there is a certainty of getting no bed at all. 

Wear such clothing as will excite no regrets should 
they be covered with mud or grease, as they inevi- 
tably will. Put on long legged boots, made water- 
proof. Carry no baggage except a small traveling; 
bag or haversack, suspended by a strap over the* 
shoulder. A blanket will be found very convenient 
in case no bed can be obtained, or as an addition to 
the scanty amount of bed clothing, should a bed be- 
secured. A lunch, or some crackers and cheese, in 
the haversack will be found convenient in case a 
tavern cannot be reached by dinner time. 

The visitor to the Oil Regions who cannot " rough* 
it," amid mud, filth, grease, wretched roads, deep> 
quagmires, miserable accommodations and poor food, 
had better stop at Meadvilie, eat a hearty dinner at 
the McHenry House, and then take the first train 
for home. He has not had a " call ; ' for life among 
the oil wells. 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 



33 



A TRIP DOWN OIL CREEK— MEAD YILLE TO 
SHAFFER'S FARM, VIA CORRY, 



In November and December, 1864, the writer 
spent three weeks exploring the oil region of Venan- 
go county, and investigating the condition of some 
of the oil properties. All the known oil localities 
were visited and carefully examined. A narrative 
of the leading features of the trip will give the read- 
er some idea of the nature of the country and the 
business done in it, but no description can do the 
subject proper justice. An actual visit can alone 
give one a proper appreciation of the vast import- 
ance of the petroleum business. 

Traveling in the roomy and elegant cars of the 
Atlantic and Great Western Railway, the journey 
was performed with comparative ease and comfort. 
At Meadville we halted for the night at the McHen- 
ry House, that we might enter the oily land with 
daylight to reveal its wonders. Here we found the 
principal topic of discussion was oil. The wave of 
excitement which was said to be sweeping through 
the valleys to the southward, rippled gently in the 
McHenry House, and people were discussing the 
latest news from " the Creek." Every one we met 
with was " in oil," and every one was making ar- 
rangements to get deeper into the grease. Big stories 
were told of the fortunes made at the wells, and by 
the owners of oil lands, and bigger tales of the 
frightful state of the roads. I dreamed all night of 
thousand barrel wells throwing up oceans of mud, 
2 



34 PETROLEUM AND 

and wading in greenbacks to the knees. My trav- 
eling companion in the opposite bed interrupted his 
"distinct breathings," with muttered offers of "ten 
thousand dollars for the refusal of your farm for five 
minutes," awakening me with his demands for an 
immediate answer. I set him down as a pitiable 
case of "oil on the brain," and tried to go to sleep. 

At five o'clock of a dark, cold, and snowy morn- 
ing, we set out by a freight train for Oorry, having 
determined to enter the oil region by the Titusville 
route. That it is not the most convenient route was 
a fact of which we soon had abundant evidence, but, 
on the whole, there was not much to complain of, al- 
though traveling in a caboose car very early on a 
cold morning, is not the most pleasant experience in 
the world. 

Everything must have an end, and shortly after 
eight o'clock we reached Corry. Here the Atlantic 
& Great Western, Philadelphia & Erie, and Oil 
Creek Railways meet. The junction station is a mis- 
erable little affair, of rough boards, and utterly un- 
able to shelter one half the crowd waiting to go by 
the different trains. The snow was driving furious- 
ly, the weather was getting momentarily colder, and 
every one sought shelter. The dense mass, packed 
into the miserable little station like herrings in a 
cask, formed a motley assemblage. There were but 
few women among them. The men were of all 
ranks, ages, and descriptions. Sharp eyed, trim 
dressed, and eager speculators from New York, 
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, carpet-sack in hand, or 
with traveling bag strapped over the shoulder, going 
down to secure " a big thing;" traders anxious to 
open up a line of custom ; rough fellows, going down 
to work at the wells ; and old farmers, coarsely clad, 
and with their cowhide boots covered to the tops 
with mud whose layers spoke of months of travel 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 35 

over villianous roads, just as the concentric rings of 
bark on a tree reveal its years of growth, but wh,e» 
had within a year or two been made rich by farms- 
that had previously made them poor: — all were= 
bawling for tickets for " Titusville" or " Shaeffer's- 
Farm," until the ticket clerk was well nigh driven* 
desperate. 

For nearly an hour the crowd surged outward 
towards the platform, as the rumble of a passing lo- 
comotive was heard, and inward towards the stove r 
as the origin of the sound became known. Just as- 
the crowd had settled down to the conviction that 
there was to be no conveyance to Oil Creek, a shout 
of " Train" was heard. 

A bomb shell suddenly dropped in their midst 
could not have produced a greater stampede than 
did that shout. The train was slowly backed down 
to the station, when the crowd rushed furiously at it* 
They swarmed up the steps, into the baggage car,, 
over the locomotive, everywhere but under tho 
wheels, and how they escaped that was a mystery. 
All tho courtesies and amenities of life were disre- 
garded. Men fought for precedence as if their lives- 
depended on it. Women were rudely thrust back 
by anxious men who clung to the step rails and 
kicked off those who endeavored to climb over them. 
Three cars and a baggage car were in three minutes- 
packed almost to suffocation. A rattle and a jerk, 
and the train was off, shaking and jolting every one- 
into position. We were well on our way for the- 
" Oil Dorado." 

From Oorry to Titusville the railroad passes 
through an irregular country, and the track gener- 
ally follows the original configuration of the land- 
Up hill the huge locomotive pants with its heavy 
load, and down hill it rushes, shrieking as if anxious 
to plunge itself into* destruction. Corry, with its. 



36 



PETROLEUM AND 



scattered houses, its immense brick oil refinery, 
the largest establishment of the kind in existence, 
and all the other items that make up a thriving 
town, where three or four years ago there was noth- 
ing but "the forest primeval," is soon left behind. 
So also are the long trains of engines waiting to be 
united to innumerable derricks already lining the 
creek, but which will have to wait longer yet owing 
to the inadequate facilities possessed by the road for 
transporting the immense amount of freight crowd- 
ing on it. Soon the line of the creek is struck, and 
the road skirts its edge, most of the way winding 
along a ledge cut in the face of almost perpendicu- 
lar cliffs. Here and there a derrick, like the skele- 
ton of a church spire with its apex sawn off t and the 
frame not yet lifted on the church, keeps solemn 
watch along the brinks, pickets of the advancing 
army of Petrolia. Presently* the derricks increase ; 
they close up their ranks, and soon stand in un- 
broken line along the left bank of the stream, throw- 
ing frequent skirmishers across to the right bank, 
effecting lodgments at the foot of the precipitous 
cliffs, where there is barely room to stand, and even 
threatening the railroad track which winds higher 
-up. Puffs of steam and creaking of engines show 
where the pumping wells are at work. The river is 
dark, and a scum of oil glistens on its surface. Here 
and there a small board shanty, connected by slen- 
der pipes with tanks at a little distance, marks the 
existence of a refinery— for all the processes con- 
nected with oil, from its extraction from the rock 
until it is ready for consumption, are carried on in 
the vicinity of the wells, employing a great number 
of refineries in addition to those in successful opera- 
tion at Cleveland, Pittsburgh, New York, Philadel- 
phia,, and other places. The river margin widens 
and the number of derricks increase. No longer in 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 



37 



single line, they double and treble their ranks, and 
appear in unbroken column; the new timber show- 
ing the large proportion just started, and the black 
and greasy appearance of many proving that their 
owners have '• struck ile." 

Twenty eight miies from Corry the train stopped 
at Titusville, the last point in Crawford county be- 
fore entering Venango county. A few years ago, 
Titusville was a lively little village, chiefly inhabited 
by lumbermen and raftsmen. In 1855 it was cred- 
ited in the Gazetteer with having "an universalist 
church and 243 inhabitants." Now it has a popula- 
tion of over six thousand, and rapidly increasing. 
The one church has found several others to keep it 
company. There are thirteen hotels, crowded night- 
ly with guests, of whom a large proportion have to 
spend the night without the privilege of half a 
bed, (an entire interest in a bed is a thing unknown 
in the oil regions.) Two banks do a large business 
in the funds produced by operations in oil, and a 
third bank is nearly ready to open. A new and 
handsome reading room, well supplied with the pa- 
pers and periodicals of the day, has been opened, 
and there is a hall kept constantly engaged by lec- 
turers, concerts, or other popular amusements. In 
every part Titusville gives evidence of its state of 
transition from a small village to a thriving city. 
Lofty and handsome brick blocks alternate with 
small dilapidated wooden buildings. A well made 
plank sidewalk borders a muddy canal, by courtesy 
called a street. When the citizens have time, some 
day, they will probably rectify those little irregu- 
larities, but just now every one is too busy. There 
are oil wells within the limits of the town, and some 
of the new settlers who have purchased lots on some 
of the streets are in doubt whether to erect a dwell- 
ing or a derrick. One is necessary, yet the other 
may pay best. 



38 PETROLEUM AND 

The platform at Titusville station was crowded 
with people, some waiting to see the new arrivals, 
but most intending to take the train for farther 
down the creek. For every person who left the 
train at least three got on, so that the crowd became 
even thicker than before, and a number w^ere driven 
to the platform of the cars. 

From Titusville to Shaeffer's Farm is seven miles, 
and all the way there were abundant evidences of 
oil adventures, past, present, and prospective. About 
a mile and a half below Titusville, on Watson's flats, 
is the scene of Col. Drake's first experiment in sink- 
ing oil wells, the result of which has been the en- 
riching thousands of persons, and the addition of an 
immense business to the resources of the nation. 
Near this point comes in the East Branch of Oil 
Creek, which has now been purchased and leased to 
nearly its entire length, for the purpose of boring for 
oil. Along the whole route to Shaeffer's Farm the 
derricks increased in number until there was a per- 
fect forest of dismantled steeples. The air was red- 
olent with the greasy perfume, and the passengers 
in the crowded cars talked more fiercely about oil,, 
and discussed vast sums of money more glibly. 

Miller's Farm, at which the train stops for a few 
minutes, is now a scene of busy activity. In the 
Autumn of 1864 three fourths of the farm, compris- 
ing a tract of three hundred and seventy five acres, 
was purchased by the " Indian Rock Oil Co." of 
New York. The enterprise was a vast one, for the 
purchase of so large a property in the very heart of 
the developed oil region, required large capital. 
Among the heaviest proprietors in the Company are 
William H. Webb, of New York, the world renowned 
ship builder, Ocherhausen Brothers, extensive sugar 
refiners of New York, Raynolds, Pratt & Co , whole- 
sale druggists, in that city, and J. T. Briggs of Ti- 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 39 

tusville, one of the pioneers of oildom. The property 
at the time of its purchase contained a number of 
wells in operation, and others going down. The 
new proprietors, anxious to fully develope the value 
of their property, instead of floating their stock upon 
the market, proceeded at once to the work of sinking 
new wells, and in this way have already expended 
about $75,000. The result of this course will, from 
present appearances, be the production of several 
new successful wells. Besides their property on 
the Miller Farm, the Indian Eock Oil Co. have a 
large interest in twenty five acres on the Foster 
Farm, lying farther down the stream. Altogether 
the Company have thirty wells — a very desirable 
property to hold. The President of the Company is 
G. A. Hoyt, manager of the Pennsylvania Coal Co. ; 
and the other officers are, Victor L. Conrad, Secre- 
tary and Treasurer ; J. T. Briggs, General Superin- 
tendent at Titusville; L. H. Severance, Assistant 
Superintendent. 

Shaeffer's Farm at last. The crowd tumbled out 
of the cars as frantically as they clambered in, and, 
clutching their scanty baggage, rushed wildly for 
the "hotel," scrambling over each other in their 
anxiety to get first at the register. Every man as 
he scrawled his name with a nervous hand, enquired 
if he could get a room at night, and was met with 
the chilling response from an individual in high 
boots, covered with mud, that " there was almighty 
little show for anything, as it looked to him." De- 
termined to make sure of what was at hand, and 
trust to luck for the future, the crowd broke for the 
dining room, not stopping to go through the cere- 
mony of washing, for the land of grease and dirt has 
been reached, and the niceties of civilized life are 
henceforth disregarded. A plunge was made through 
the narrow passage to the dining room ; already 



40 PETROLEUM AND 

keen scented nostrils snuffed the titillating odor of 
roast and boiled, and hungry mouths watered in ex- 
pectancy. But an impassable obstacle presented 
itself in the shape of a grim janitor who refused ad- 
mittance without a ticket, and the il Johnny New- 
comes" had to fight their way back to the bar and 
deposit seventy-five cents for the bit of blue paste- 
board, whilst the old stagers who were better pro- 
vided, entered and filled all the vacant chairs. To 
give an idea of the rush of pilgrims to the Oily Land 
the fact may be cited that at one tavern at Shaeffer's 
Farm, from two to four hundred people dine daily. 
As to the quality of the meal we have nothing parti- 
cular to say. The price was first class, and if the 
viands fell short of first class standard, the people at 
the " oil diggins" have no business with nice stomachs. 

Dinner bolted, our first enquiry was about getting 
down the Creek. Conveyances there were none, 
from the fact that there were no roads to travel on. 
A single glance at the country around the " hotel" 
settled that question. A walk of three feet from the 
door in any direction brought the wayfarer into mud 
knee deep, — and such mud ! Clayey, slippery, greasy, 
sticky mud, into which you slid easily to uncertain 
depth, but which clung with fond affection to your 
legs, and endeavored to perform the offices of a boot 
jack ; deceptive mud, that appeared of uniform qual- 
ity, but which in places suddenly engulfed the trav- 
eler thigh deep. Some of the pilgrims struck out 
boldly but were soon stuck fast, monuments of their 
own rashness. Clearly that mode of travel was not 
to be thought of except in case of dire necessity. 

A good Samaritan appeared on the scene in the 
person of an exceedingly dirty and rowdyish looking 
young fellow, with the guise of a canaller. He loud- 
ly invited every one to take the packet boat for Oil 
City. Here was hope — doomed, alas ! to be crushed 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 41 

as soon as born. The packet boat was an oily flat 
boat, without shelter or seat, and the fare for the 
twelve miles by this precious conveyance was only 
three dollars and a half, or about thirty cents a mile ! 
So that plan was rejected, and a brief council of war 
resulted in the decision to stay all night at Shaefler's 
Farm, and start down on foot early in the morning. 
By dint of considerable finessing we secured a half 
interest each in a small bed packed with another bed 
in a dark closet dignified with the title of a " sleep- 
ing apartment." As four persons occupied the room, 
in which there was barely space enough for two per- 
sons to undress at one time, and as there was not a 
window or opening of any kind for ventilation, but 
little clothing was required to keep us warm, a fact 
of which the landlord was evidently aware. Our 
neighbors " across the way" were deep in oil, and 
kept up a continued conversation on the subject. 
About two o'clock in the morning I dropped asleep, 
lulled by a confused sound of " flowing well — five 
hundred thousand dollars — one half the oil — two 
years ago he wasn't worth a red cent — two thousand 
dollars a day — the biggest thing yet — third sand- 
stone — made his everlasting fortune." My last men- 
tal reflection was that I wished I could say so of my* 
self. 



42 PETROLEUM AND 



DOWN OIL CREEK TO OIL CITY. 



He who essays the "middle passage" between 
Shaeffer's Farm (the present terminus of the Oil 
Creek Railroad) and Oil City, must prepare himself 
for an experience for which life in the city affords* 
but a poor preparation. The second step from the 
hotel at Shaeffer's plunges the pedestrian into a sea of 
mud which extends with varying depth to Oil City,, 
more than twelve miles, with scarcely a friendly 
rock on which to rest the sole of the foot. Mud 
everywhere, illimitable, unfathomable. Let him 
who thinks he can make the passage by turning up 
his trowsers over his ancles and picking his way, at 
once disabuse himself of the idea. If he does not, ten 
steps from Person's Hotel at the Shaeffer will do it- 
for him. 

Lest any intending visitor to the oil regions should 
be discouraged by this picture and confine his wan- 
derings to the limits of the railroads, I warn him 
that if he would see anything at all of oildom he 
must make the passage, unpleasant as it may be. 
There is no alternative. To see the tips of the ele- 
phant's ears, or the end of his tail, is not to see the- 
animal, or form any idea of his bulk, and there is no- 
other way of doing it than to "wade in." And this 
much may be added that whoever makes the trip, 
with his eyes open, will never regret it. The sight 
is one of which no description however graphic or * 
minute, can give a just idea. 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 43 

The best way of making the passage, whether in the 
muddy season, or in the season of ice, is to travel on 
foot. It is the most independent, enabling the 
Tisitor to pursue his investigations with greater free- 
dom, and is, moreover, in general the most expeditous 
way. A flat boat is an abomination, and a horse — 
-especially such as they have on the Creek — is vanity 
and vexation of spirit. Strike out boldly on foot, 
. and pull your legs up when they disappear from sight, 
remembering that if you descend deep enough you 
may strike oil. There is a choice of paths in going 
- down or up the Creek, the difference between them 
being that each is muddier than the other, and that 
you are certain to select the muddiest. 

The morning we set out from Shaffer's headed 
down creek, was intensely cold, with some little fly- 
ing snow. The ground was frozen hard, with ridges 
and knobs, making the traveling even worse than it 
would be in soft mud. Not unfrequently what 
appeared to be solid ground vfauld prove to be a 
mere thin crust, covering a deep mud hole, into 
which an unwary step would send the unlucky travel- 
er knee deep, sorely to the wear and tear of Christ- 
ian patience and forbearance. 

After leaving Shaeffer's Farm the route lay 
through the Stephenson and Gregg farms. 

With every rock and turn of the sinuous creek the 
derricks increased in number, and the wheeze and 
clank of the engines grew louder and more confused. 
Climbing around the bluffs, over a steep path, then 
striking the newly graded track of the unfinished 
Oil Creeek Eailroad, chiseled out of the face of the 
cliffs, and at last descending to the half frozen mud 
of the valley, we came out on the Foster Farm, 
crowded thickly with derricks and engines, groaning 
and creaking with the labor of pumping up the liquid 
treasures of the earth, more valuable than the golden 



44 PETROLEUM AND 

waters of the ancients. About sixty derricks were 
massed together on this little tract of land, most of 
them with their black, greasy vats, sometimes ranged 
in a row, capable of holding each from five to ten 
thousand dollars' worth of oil, and several of them 
full. New derricks were going up, and engines stood 
around, waiting to be put up in the proper places 
and set to work. By the roadside, is a row of vats, 
at one end of the row being the time stained and 
greasy derrick of the famous Sherman well, whose his- 
tory has already been given. Near it is the Porter 
well, which in May, 1864, commenced flowing about a 
hundred and fifty barrels daily, but now pumps from 
fifteen to twenty barrels. On this farm are the wells 
of the Briggs Oil Co., and across the Creek are those 
of the Gillette Oil Co., both under the management 
of Mr. J. T. Briggs, who has already been mentioned 
as managing the property of the Indian Rock Oil Co. 
The latter Company has purchased a large interest 
in twenty-five acres on the Foster Farm, on which 
are a number of producing wells. Most of the wells- 
were yielding finely, giving a large revenue to the 
proprietors. The Briggs Company has been enabled 
to pay heavy dividends from its receipts, and the 
wells of the Indian Rock Oil Co. are producing suffi- 
cient to warrant large dividends on the Company's 
stock. The Gillette Company's wells, on the Espy 
Farm across the Creek, are partly producing and 
partly boring, the prospects being very good for the 
proprietors. Close to these wells are the old Buckeye 
and the Buckeye Belle wells. The Buckeye former- 
ly flowed largely, and bears an extensive reputation 
from the fact that it was the oil of this well which 
Mr. Briggs shipped to Europe as a sample, being the 
first American rock oil ever sent across the Atlantic. 
Having lain idle for some time the well became 
choked, but has been restored by an air pump and is 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 45 

now doing well. The famous Noble well, which in 
1863 flowed twenty-five hundred barrels daily, and 
still flows largely, is on the same side of the Creek as 
the Gillette Go. wells, a little above. There also is 
the Crocker well, struck in 1863, and flowing largely 
for a considerable time, but now pumping. 

The system of transportation adopted for oil and 
fuel is flat boating on the creek. Four horses abreast 
are attached to a flatboat, which they haul up stream, 
the horses taking the middle of the creek. The bed 
of the stream is even and covered with loose flat 
shale rock, the water being up to a horse's belly. An 
Oil Creek flatboat generally holds from 80 to 100 
barrels of oil, on which the freight up is from seven- 
ty cents to one dollar, freight on coal being in pro- 
portion. As the boats sometimes make two trips a 
day, the business is highly profitable, though any- 
thing but pleasant, especially to the horses. As we 
passed down the creek the weather was intensely 
cold, and the ice was floating down in large masses, 
but the unhappy horses had to wade up with their 
heavy loads, their bodies partially clad in icy coats 
of mail, and their tails mere bunches of icicles. If it 
is borne in mind that these horses had to be from 
three to four hours in this icy water, without relief 
or rest, and that even saddle horses have to wade 
the stream several times in making the journey, the 
short lives and wretched character of the live stock 
in that region will not be wondered at. 

Passing one or two "runs" with derricks going up 
or wells going down, we strike the McElhinney Farm, 
on both sides of the creek, punched as full of holes 
as a strainer. Here is the famous Funk well, the 
.first flowing well on the creek, that kept up its 
stream of wealth for fifteen months, and, close by, 
the Empire well, that gushed forth three thousand 
barrels daily, and flooded the land around with oil a 
foot deep. 



46 iPETROLEUM AND 

The Funk well is now silent and its lips dry, but 
the old Empire, after two years of steady flow, 
followed by a pumping yield of about a hundred bar- 
rels daily, and then a stubborn refusal to give 
another drop, has been induced, by the gentle persua- 
sion of a "blower," or air pump, to send up about 
fifty barrels a day. 

Passing through the Boyd Farm, on the East side 
of the Creek, on which there were fewer wells than 
on the tracts on either side of it, we crossed the 
.stream to the G. W. McClintock Farm, where the 
throng of derricks, the clustered houses, and the flag 
pole in front of a tavern, marked the presence of 
" Petroleum Centre." Here the wells are crowded 
-as thickly as houses in the most populous part of a 
city, dwellings and engine houses being mixed up in 
such inextricable confusion that it is difficult to dis- 
tinguish one from the other without entering, and 
not always then. A ravine enters the Creek at this 
point from the West, and near the mouth are several 
producing wells, among others the Wild Cat wells, 
on the Gillespie property. 

Ke-crossing the river to the East side we came out 
on the Hyde and Egbert Farm, one of the most not- 
ed parts of the Creek from the number of important 
wells on it, among them being the Coquette, which is 
now flowing a large fortune into the pockets of its 
owners. Like most of the original owners of proper- 
ty on Oil Creek, both Dr. Egbert and his partner 
were men of small means before they struck oil, 
though both are now very wealthy. Several of the 
great flowing wells of the Creek are on their farm, 
&nd as the land owners have an interest — generally 
one half — in the oil raised, a comfortable income is 
-secured. Here is the Maple Shade, which for months 
ran a thousand barrels daily, now dropped to fifty ; 
the Jersey, which still flows three hundred and twen- 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 47 

ty, three Keystone wells, flowing ; a number of val- 
uable pumping wells, and lastly the Coquette, struck 
a short time since, commencing to flow 1500 barrels 
daily, then falling to 1000 barrels, and now running 
600 barrels. 

The Coquette, being one of the latest great " sen- 
sations" on the Creek, is the object of much curiosity , 
and many pilgrims come daily to gaze in wonder and 
envy on it. Plashing through a quagmire three 
parts thick oil and one part mud the row of huge 
tanks was reached, and the rush of the stream of oil 
could be heard distinctly overhead. Climbing the 
derrick a view could be obtained of the interior of 
the tank, into which a stream of oil was rushing at 
the rate of five dollars a minute. Owing to the vol- 
ume of gas in the well the oil is driven out like 
spray with such violence that at first it blew entirely 
across the tank, and saturated the ground around. 
A covering of boards has now been placed at the 
mouth of the pipe, and against this the stream plays 
with a force resembling the stream of one of the 
steam fire engines striking the side of a house. The 
quality of the oil was at first not of the best kind,, 
being "riley" and of a yellowish color instead 
of the dark green of pure oil. It has now greatly 
improved and sells at full prices. There are twelve 
tanks, holding from 1200 to 1600 barrels each, full 
of oil, worth in the aggregate over $150,000, in ad- 
dition to what has been barreled and sold. All 
around are notices warning visitors against smoking r 
the air being full of highly inflammable gas. A share 
in the Coquette is considered a " moderate" fortune. 
In January of this year Dr. Egbert sold one-twelftk 
interest in the Coquette for $250,000. Four years 
ago he bought the entire forty acres on which these 
flowing wells are located for one thousand dollars, 
taking his last dollar to pay the sum. 



48 PETROLEUM AND 

Passing the Rhinoceros well, the Porcupine well, 
the Ram Cat well, and a whole menagerie of other 
wells, we came to the Story Farm, crowded with der- 
ricks and wells. Here are the locations of the Col- 
umbia and Dalzell Oil Companies, two noted Pitts- 
burgh Companies, the former being one of the most 
successful in the oil regions, returning larger profits 
to its original stockholders than any other company. 
Its history is such a remarkable instance of profitable 
investment that it will be read with interest. The 
Columbia was organized in 1862, and purchased the 
Story Farm for $128,000 from a company of seven 
persons, of Pittsburgh, who in 1859 bought the farm 
for a few thousand dollars. The Columbia Company 
was organized with a capital of $200,000, divided 
into 10,000 shares of a par value of $20 each. During 
the year 1862 the • stock varied in price from $2 to 
$10 per share. At this time the chief difficulty with 
the company was the receipt of 1200 barrels of oil 
per day and no market for it. But a foreign demand 
soon sprung up, and between 1862 and 1864 the Com- 
pany divided $300,000. In April 1864, $70,000 
was divided, in May following $100,000, and $100,- 
000 in June. The dividends between July and De- 
cember were $625,000, making a total of dividends 
since the formation of the company of $1,195,000, 
more than five times the amount of original capital. 
In June, 1864, the old shares were called in and new 
ones issued of $50 each, the holder of an original 
$20 share receiving five new ones, of $50 each. The 
person who paid one year and a half ago the par 
value of $20 ecah for one hundred shares, and has held 
his stock, has received $12,000 in dividends to De- 
cember, and from the profits on the increase of capi- 
tal made in June last, obtained an accession to his 
stock of four hundred shares, which shares are worth, 
with his original hundred shares, at present market 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 49 

prices, $42,500, making a clear profit of $52,500 in 
eighteen months. If he bought the original shares 
at their lowest price, $2 each, that profit was made 
on a capital of $200. 

Next below the Story Farm, on the East side, is 
the Tarr Farm, on which is the famous Philips well, 
which flowed two thousand barrels daily for many 
montns. The owner of the Tarr Farm in years past 
was a poor and uneducated man, who eked out a 
meagre livelihood by lumbering in addition to scratch- 
ing the barren hill for a scanty crop. Poor as the 
surface crops may have been, the soil below has sent 
up products so rich that the lucky owner is now an 
exceedingly wealthy man, who lives in splendid re- 
tirement at a small town not far from Meadville. 
The farm is covered with wells, nearly all of which, 
if not the whole, are successful. Judging from a su- 
perficial examination, this appears to be one of the 
most successful territories on the Creek, as it certain- 
ly is one of the most muddy. Here we came across 
a team, the first we had seen below ShaefFer's. It 
was stuck in a mudhole, the fore wheels clear under 
and the hind wheels invisible to the hub. The team- 
ster, who, judging from that portion of him above 
ground, was probably a six-footer, stood contemplat- 
ing the situation with dismay. In passing we ven- 
tured the remark, " Mister, guess you are stuck." It 
was a daring remark to make under the circumstances, 
and nothing could be expected in response less than 
a volley of curses, deep and dire. That such a pro- 
ceeding suggested itself to the mind of the teamster 
was evident by the look of his eye, but after revolv- 
ing the whole matter he concluded he could not do 
justice to the subject, and with one look at the " stall- 
ed " team and another at us, he gave a heavy groan 
and responded, " Well, it looks like it !" 

Through muddy flats and up steep hillsides ; past 
throngs of derricks ; by gushing flowing wells, and 



50 PETBOLEUM AND 

creaking pumping wells ; through the Blood Farm y 
where the dilapidated, unpainted, moss covered ancL 
time- stained house, in which the owner of the farm 
lived in his days of poverty, is confronted by the- 
smart and showy boarding house erected for the use 
of its employees by the New York company now own- 
ing most of the wells, at last we reach the Rynd 
Farm, and the mouth of Cherry Tree Run. Here 
the wells again become very thick, and abundant evi- 
dences exist of a large number of them being pro- 
ductive. 

The widow McOlintock, or Steele Farm, lies below 
the Rynd Farm. A large number of valuable wells 
are on this property, yielding a splendid revenue to 
the proprietor of the land, John W. Steele, who has 
but just come of age. The Buchanan Farm comes 
next in line, and at this point, near the village of 
Rouseville, another of the villages born of the oil ex- 
citement, is the old Taylor well that once flowed 
largely, but stopped after yielding sixteen thousand 
barrels, when it was left to lie idle. It has recently 
been purchased by the Grant Oil Company of Cleve- 
land, and restored by pumping to about thirty bar- 
rels, yielding a large return to the lucky owners. 
A few rods farther down, Cherry Run enters Oil 
Greek. Resisting for the present the desire to ex- 
plore this ravine, now the scene of so much excite- 
ment on account of the numerous successful wells re- 
cently struck, we passed on to McClintockville, on 
the Hamilton McClintock Farm, a small village, part- 
ly perched on a high bluff, and partly on the low 
ground on the other side of the Creek. 

Here again was a throng of wells, most of them 
highly successful, with several new wells, many of 
which had "struck ile." The Baltimore and Venan- 
go Oil Company have seven wells. All of the wells> 
are doing finely, and the full vats and large streams, 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 51 

<of some of them would have gladdened the hearts of 
the stockholders had they been there to see. Close 
hy those wells was one which has been the scene of 
e, curious streak of luck. The owner sank his hole 
to the third sand rock, but found nothing but water. 
He pumped diligently for days, but without finding 
& grease spot in his vats, and then abandoned his un- 
productive hole in disgust. At this point he was 
visited by the owner of a neighboring well, who had 
•been reaping the benefit of his labors, the water 
drawn up from the unproductive well having relieved 
the adjoining well of the stream which had previous- 
ly caused some trouble. The visitor offered to pay 
the unfortunate pumper thirty-eight dollars per 
week to keep his pumps going, and, rather than aban- 
don his engine, the latter agreed, and set to work 
once more. Six months he kept at it, drawing pure 
water out of the hole, to the relief of his neighbor, 
and then he "struck ile," and has since been pump- 
ing steadily to his own delight and the chagrin of 
his neighbor, whose vein he has "tapped." A nice 
question of ethics is involved in this matter. If the 
pumper was hired to pump his neighbor's water, has 
he any right to pump his oil ? 

In the middle of the river, below the McClintock- 
ville bridge, is an old well. Tradition says that at 
this point a spring of oil bubbled up, and the 
Indians were in the habit of coming there to skim 
the oil for medicinal purposes. Here, also, it is said 
the owner of the land gathered the oil by soaking a 
blanket in the stream and wringing out the oleagin- 
ous fluid in a bucket. A few years ago a well was 
■sunk on the spot, but the brilliant expectations 
indulged in by the adventurers were never realized. 
It was not a paying investment. 

The Clapp Farm has a number of wells, many of 
them successful, but none of great note. Just be- 



52 PETEOLEUM AND 

low the southern line of this tract is Cornplanter 
Run, coming in from the West. Preparations have 
been made for boring on that territory. The Graff 
Hasson Farm, next above Oil City, contained one 
thousand acres, and was purchased in 1856 for $ 7000, 
A short time since three hundred and twenty five 
acres of it sold for $750,000. It formerly belonged 
to Cornplanter, the renowned chief of the Seneca 
Indians. 

Oil City at last. Oil City, with its one long, crook- 
ed and bottomless street. Oil City, with its dirty 
houses, greasy plank sidewalks, and fathomless mud. 
Oil City, where horsemen ford the street in from four 
to five feet of liquid filth, and where the inhabitants 
wear knee boots as part of indoor equipment. Oil 
City, which will give the dirtiest place in the world 
three feet advantage and then beat it in depth of 
mud. Oil City, where weary travelers think them- 
selves blest if they can secure their claim to six feet 
of floor for the night, and where the most favored in- 
dividual accepts with grateful joy the offer of half a 
bed and the twentieth interest in a bed-room. 

Oil City is worthy of its name. The air reeks 
with oil. The mud is oily. The rocks hugged by 
the narrow street, perspire oil. The water shines 
with the rainbow hues of oil. Oil boats, loaded with 
oil, throng the oily stream, and oily men with oily 
hands fasten oily ropes around oily snubbing posts. 
. Oily derricks stand among the houses, and the "town 
pump," if there is such an institution, must pump 
oil. There are several productive wells in the city> 
ranging from five to twenty barrels, and the citizens 
are busy boring in their back yards, in waste lots, or 
wherever a derrick can be erected. The Linden 
well, just above the Petroleum House, is remarkable 
from the fact that it commenced to flow on the 10th 
day of October, 1861, at the rate of twenty barrels 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 53 

per day, and has daily yielded a supply that has not 
varied five barrels during the whole period, and 
appears to be as vigorous lo-day as when first struck. 
The growth of Oil City is something, remarkable. 
Until the commencement of oil mining on the Greek, 
there was nothing at the junction of Oil Creek and 
the Alleghany but a small store and a tavern or two, 
frequented by the raftsmen who brought their rafts 
into the eddy and rested aw 7 hile. In 1861 a settle- 
ment was established at the mouth of the Creek, and 
several stores of various kinds put up. In the 
Spring of 1862, Oil City was incorporated as a 
borough. There are now seven dry goods and gene- 
ral variety stores, three milliners, two jeweller's shops, 
three banks, four drug stores, two photographic gal- 
leries, two hardware stores, five boot and shoe stores, 
thirteen family groceries and provisions, two grocer- 
ies and bakery, five shoemaking shops, eight doctors, 
four law firms, eighteen oil dock proprietors, eight 
refineries, three oil brokers, four builders, two paint- 
ers, tw T elve hotels, six saloons, two commission ware- 
houses, one oil pipe fitter, tw T o tinshops, three 
blacksmiths, two machine shops, one wheelwright, 
three butchers, three lumber yards, and four 
ojlfcrches. 

^R traveling from Shaeffer's Farm to Oil City, and 
not taking into account any of the "Runs," over one 
thousand wells, old and new, are passed. Before 
Spring arrives that number will be largely increased. 



54 PETEOLEUM AND 



CHERRY RUN. 



The fact that Oil Creek itself is not the only valu- 
able oil producing locality, and that apparently 
valueless territory may prove highly productive, has 
been exemplified in the history of Cherry Run. A 
year ago this property was almost entirely neglected, 
very few derricks were erected on it, and the land 
was held at comparatively low prices. Now there 
seems to be no limit, to the sums asked and paid. 
The principal cause of this excitement is the success 
of the Reed and Criswell and other flowing wells 
which "struck oil" on the Run during the Summer 
and Fall of 1864. The Reed and Criswell well com- 
menced flowing about a thousand barrels daily, but 
soon dropped to two hundred and eighty barrels, at 
which it has remained steady for several months. 
The quality of the oil is very fine. Soon after Jfe 
striking of the Reed well, some others commenWi 
flowing. The excitement became intense, the rush 
was tremendous, and in a short time all the available 
property on the Run was taken up at high figures. 
Pairing to secure the fee simple to the land, the next 
object of the late comers was to secure leases, and in 
order to obtain these the anxious oil-seekers were not 
only ready to give half the oil, but to pay large 
bonuses in addition. Soon the valley was planted 
as thickly with derricks as it could possibly hold, 
where a lease could be obtained, and even the steep 
hillsides were bored by the pertinacious oil-seekers. 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 55 

To the Litter confusion of theorists who hold that oil 
can only be found on the flats, and to the triumph of 
those who hold the opposite opinion, several of the 
wells away up the hillside have proved successful, 
which furnishes another proof that the only reliable 
theory is that oil exists wherever it flows or can be 
pumped out of a well, in other words, where it is it 
can be found, and where it is not it will not pay for 
seeking it. Nothing additional is charged for this bit 
of valuable information. 

The scene in going up Cherry Run is more full of 
excitement than anywhere on the Creek. The Run, 
at its mouth, is but a narrow gorge between steep 
hills, through which a muddy, rocky, and brawling 
stream wends its way. Pumping wells and flowing 
wells are planted thick along the narrow flat, and 
climb the hills on either side. The road is execrable 
at its commencement, the wagons sinking over the 
hub, and at a short distance from the Creek loses its 
identity in a number of deep ruts looping around in 
all directions where a teamster could force his team 
in hopes of finding abetter track. The stream being 
small and rocky, water transportation is not available, 

•d powerful teams, drawing wagons loaded with five 
rrels of oil each, go plunging and staggering in the 
mud, and among the rocks that form the bed of the 
stream. Every now and then a wagon breaks down, 
and then the perpetual chorus of shouts and oaths 
becomes intensified in spots, making, with the noise of 
escaping steam, the clank and jar of the engines and 
pumps, and the rushing of the steam, a noisy enter- 
tainment. Traveling on the Creek is bad enough, 
but the extreme of diabolical locomotion is not 
attained unless the tramp is taken up Cherry Run. 
The constant passage of teams not only cuts the roads 
into deep sloughs of mud, but makes the pedestrian 
keep bobbing around to escape being knocked over 
by them in their erratic courses. 



56 PETROLEUM AND 

About two miles up the Run is the Reed & Cris- 
well, or Reed well as it is generally known, Criswell 
having sold out his interest for a princely sum. In 
the vicinity of this well are several other flowing 
wells, among them the Baker w r ell, credited with one 
hundred barrels daily ; the Gruninger, an intermit- 
tent flowing w r ell ; the Yankee, flowing fifty barrels ; 
and, a short distance above, the Auburn, flowing 
eighty barrels. The two acres, on which the Reed 
well is located, was offered for sale, two years ago, 
for $1500, but found no purchasers. It was lately 
sold for $650,000. Next above the Reed well is the 
Smith Farm, comprising fifty acres. Three or four 
years ago the then owner offered it for sale at $250 
over the incumbrances. It w T as afterwards sold for 
$2,400, and resold a year since for $6,500. It is now 
the property of the Cherry Run Oil Co., who have 
done nothing of themselves to develop their property, 
and have therefore been at no expense beyond the 
original purchase, but who are receiving from leases 
on the territory over four hundred barrels of oil daily, 
in royalty. A new well' was struck a short distance 
above the Reed well in January, flowing 250 barrels 
daily, without the sucker rods being pulled Qtfjfe 
Beyond the Smith Farm is the McFate Farm, Wf 
which there is a number of wells either down or 
going dcwn. 

Here the region of wells may be said to terminate 
for the present. Above this point derricks innumer- 
able are planted along the valley hillsides, but 
engines are scarce. Leases are taken and derricks 
erected thickly to nearly ten miles from the mouth, 
but nothing further has been done. The terms of 
most of the leases made on this Run require that 
derricks shall be erected within sixty days, and 
engines be on the ground within ninety days from 
the date of the lease, and that the work be then 



PETKOLEUM WELLS. 57 

prosecuted with all reasonable diligence. In order 
to secure the lease as far as possible, the derrick is in 
all cases erected within the required time, but con- 
siderable difficulty exists in getting the engines on 
the ground within the required time, owing to the 
great demand on the machinists for engines. 

Nearly four miles up the Run is the Humboldt 
Hennery, a very extensive establishment. The ship- 
ping point of this refinery is on the Alleghany in 
Walnut Bend, and in order to facilitate transportation 
the proprietors have constructed a road over the 
mountains, at a considerable expense, and established 
a ferry across the river. Most of their crude oil is 
brought from the Creek in wagons, but a considera- 
ble quantity is pumped up in pipes from the Tarr 
Farm. 

Plumer village lies a short distance beyond the 
refineries, and about four miles from the mouth of the 
Run, or seven miles from Oil City by the road. The 
struggle to get property on Cherry Run has been so 
eager, that land has been purchased or leased for 
boring purposes, a considerable distance above. At 
the beginning of the year 1865, there were on Cherry 
^£un, from Rouseville to Plumer village, one hundred 
^Pd eighty-six derricks, and about fifty above 
Plumer. 



58 PETROLEUM AND 



CHERRY TREE RUN, WEIKEL RUN, CORN PLANTER 
RUN, REED RUN, AND TWO MILE RUN. 



The Cherry Tree Eun enters Oil Creek from the 
North-west, on the Eynd farm. It is a ravine of con- 
siderable size, with abrupt and lofty banks near Oil 
Creek and widening into a fine valley as it approaches 
the quiet little village of Cherry Tree. Until very 
recently no attention was paid to this valley as an 
oil locality, but the great success of the investiga- 
tions on Cherry Eun led. to a more careful examina- 
tion of all the ravines in the neighborhood of Oil 
Oreek. There are now a number of experimental 
wells going down, nearly as high up the Eun as Cher- 
ry Tree Mill. None of the wells have as yet reach- 
ed a sufficient depth to fully test their value. 

Weikel Eun branches from Cherry Tree Eun^^ 
short distance above its mouth. It is a narrow rfP 
vine, with steep banks, covered with timber. It has 
lately become favorite territory from the belief very 
largely entertained by experienced managers of oil 
wells that large deposits of oil exist in it. The in- 
dications certainly favor this idea, the configuration 
of the ravine giving it the appearance of a slightly 
diminished copy of Cherry Eun. Less than half a 
mile up is the celebrated "great gas well," which 
made such a noise in 1864 by its unprecedented ex- 
plosions of gas. The gas vein was struck in May, 
when it blew with such violence as effectually to put 
a stop to all further attempts at working. The vol- 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 59 

lime of gas was tremendous, and its violence so great 
that anything thrown on the hole was instantly jerk- 
ed into the air. Its roaring could be distinctly heard 
for a hundred rods. For nearly six months it con- 
tinued to blow gas without cessation or apparent di- 
minution, until at last the hole was plugged after 
considerable trouble. As soon as it was plugged the 
gas forced a stream of water into a well sunk some 
distance up the Run. 

In December the gaseous mainfestations ceased, 
and the proprietors are preparing to sink the well 
with the expectation of finding a large deposit of oil. 
Whether their expectations will be realized remains 
to be seen, but on the principle that there can be no 
smoke without a fire there is evidently considerable 
oil in the neighborhood, if not immediately under 
the well. Acting on this belief the land around has 
been taken up by companies who propose testing it 
thoroughly. A small patch of land near the well, 
containing a small strip of borable territory and the 
rest u set up edgeways" has been purchased for $9000 
by a Philadelphia companv, and immediately above 
the gas well is the property of the " Weikel Run and 
Mcgihmney Oil Co." If appearances and " indica- 
tions ' are good for any thing, the lands of this com- 
pany are admirably situated. Its proximity to the 
gas well gives assurance of finding oil, with a strong 
probability that the oil reservoir from which the gas 
escaped is a little removed from the well, and there- 
fore on the company's lands. It is generally found 
when gas escapes in large volume from a well, with- 
out being accompanied with oil, that the gas has 
forced its way through cracks and fissures from the 
reservoir of oil at a little distance rather than that 
the oil is m the cavity immediately under the hole 
ine company have secured some valuable property 
on the McElhinney Farm, including two producing 



60 PETROLEUM AND 

wells, in conjunction with their Weikei Run lands. 

A short distance beyond the gas well is another 
well going down, having reached 660 feet. The show 
of oil was very encouraging, and the borers were 
confident of finding oil in considerable quantity as 
soon as the third sand rock was reached. Other 
wells in various stages of progress are scattered along 
both sides of the stream, considerable activity being 
displayed in developing the property. About two 
miles up a saw mill spans the stream, and just before 
it the ravine forks, one branch heading due West. 
Above the fork both branches of the ravine remain 
as yet undeveloped territory, but have good surface 
indications. A good road now exists to the Creek, 
and the facilities for shipment can easily be increas- 
ed whenever required. Besides the heavy supply 
of timber on the land,- the hill between the two forks 
of the stream is said by the neighboring farmers to 
contain a valuable vein of coal. 

Taking the road from Cherry Tree to the Allegha- 
ny Eiver, Weikei Run was left behind, and we cross- 
ed Cornplanter Run, which enters Oil Creek on the 
Clapp Farm. Preparations are making along its 
banks and bed to bore in the spring, but as j% no 
developments of consequence have been made. A 
little beyond this point we left the road and came out 
on Reed Run, a branch of Two Mile Run, which 
comes into the Alleghany not far from Franklin. 
Here were abundant evidences of a determined search 
for oil being in progress. Fifty-six acres in fee sim- 
ple of the property through which Reed Run flows, 
have become the property of the Cleveland Cherry 
Valley Oil Company, who have an engine on the 
ground, and full preparations made for sinking a well 
as soon as the frost leaves the ground. Next below, 
the Magnolia Co. of New York have a well down 
ninety feet with a good show of oil. A tract of forty 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 61 

acres adjoining the Magnolia Company's tract has 
been purchased by E. L. Dodd and D. S. Keyes, of 
Cleveland, for the purpose of boring for oil as soon 
as the season will permit. Reed Eun, especially in 
that part occupied by the three companies mention- 
ed, is a very attractive territory to those who have a 
good eye for desirable oil locations. The bottom 
land of the Eun, and the second bottom a few yards 
higher, afford as good prospect for successful wells as 
can be found on any of the Creeks or Euns in the vi- 
cinity of Oil Creek. The Cherry Valley Company 
have determined to thoroughly test the value of their 
property in that neighborhood, and from the known 
prudence and good judgment of the leading proprie- 
tors, who are from the ranks of the best and most 
sagacious business men, there is but little doubt that 
the affairs of the company will be so managed as to 
achieve success — if success is to be achieved at all — 
with the least possible amount of risk to the stock- 
holders. That there is oil in the Eun can scarcely 
be doubted, as it is but a very short distance from 
some of the most productive localities of Oil Creek, 
and but a short walk from several noted flowing wells. 
Should oil be found in any quantity on the Eeed Eun, 
^he property there will bear a high value, there be- 
ing ample space for boring a number of wells. The 
Cherry Valley Company have also two wells on the 
Alleghany which will be described in their proper 
place. 

The forty acre tract of Dodd & Keyes, below the 
Magnolia Company's well, has a large amount of bor- 
ing territory, very desirably situated, and is espe- 
cially valuable for having a fine vein of coal in the 
immediate neighborhood of the oil flat. Lower down 
and near the junction of the Eeed with Two Mile 
Run, is a well, down 350 feet, with good indication* 
of oil 



62 PETROLEUM- £WD> 

Two Mile Run has not yet any producing welfo r 
but preparations have been mad& for boring it 
thoroughly in the spring.. 



PETEOLEUM WELLS. 63 



THE ALLEGHANY RIVER, WITH HICKORY, TIO- 

NESTA, HEMLOCK, PITHOLE, AND OTHER 

TRIBUTARY CREEKS. 



During a portion of the summer months, before 
the oil excitement extended far up the river, a small 
steamer occasionally ran up from Franklin to Presi- 
dent, on the Alleghany River, but those desirous of 
going higher up, had to seek some other mode of 
conveyance. In the Fall and Winter months, no 
boats run above Oil City. A road follows the course 
of the river, with ferries at the points where the 
jutting of the precipitous bluffs out into the stream 
stops the way. To those unaccustomed to the region 
of rapidly flowing rivers, these ferries are interesting 
novelties. Two strong and lofty poles are firmly fixed 
in tfee banks and across their tops is stretched a 
stout wire or iron rod, the ends fastened to the rocks 
behind. A " traveler" or pulley wheel is placed on 
that part of the wire which crosses the stream, and 
from this " traveler" a line passes to the ferry-boat, 
which is a flat, clumsy affair, on which passengers, 
horses and vehicles are jumbled together indiscrim- 
inately. When a load is on board, the boat is pushed 
out into the stream, and the force of the current carries 
| her over without paddling, or care of any kind, the 
" traveler, " in its passage across the wire, emitting an 
eerie sound that echoes strangely among the wild 
hills at evening, and proclaims to those who have 
i ears to hear, the need of a well of lubricating oil in 
the neighborhood. 



64 PETROLEUM AND 

Those wishing to strike the river above Walnut 
Bend, can shorten the distance considerably by ta- 
king the road from Oil City to Plumer, about seven 
miles, and thence by way of Neillsburg to Tidionte, 
or striking across to President, reach the same point 
along the river road. The latter route is the most 
interesting , and generally is a better road for trav- 
eling. 

A daily stage runs from Oil City to Plumer, but 
but beyond that there is no public conveyance. Un- 
less capable of performing a long march on foot, the 
best course is to get a horse in Oil City, and set out 
early in the morning. It is between forty and fifty 
miles to Tidionte, and there being much to see, and 
Oil City horses not noted for speed or bottom, the 
hours wear away rapidly. 

Eiding up the steep hill side from Oil City, a fine 
view is obtained cf the lower part of Oil Creek with 
the crowd of wells on the broad flat through which 
the stream runs towards the close of its course. _ A 
good birds-eye view could be taken from this point, 
although not representing the busiest portion of the 
oil region, and some enterprising photographist may 
find this hint profitable. 

About a mile before reaching Plumer, the road 
crosses Cherry Run, and the multitude of derricks in 
the valley and along the hillsides, testify to the favor 
in which the Run is held by oil adventurers. The 
Humboldt Refinery lies in the Run, to the left of the 
road, and all the details of its extensive area lie open 
for inspection as on a builder's plan. The road at 
this point is horribly cut up by the heavily loaded 
wagons conveying oil to and frorn the refinery, and 
is very nearly as bad as the principal street of Oil 
City. Climbing another low hill the village of 
Plumer is reached, and at the center of the village 
the road to President branches off to the right. 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 65 

Very little can be said in favor of the road from 
Plumer to the river. The first part is bad enough, 
but on reaching Pithole Creek it becomes worse. 
The Creek well deserves its name, as it winds its way 
through a gorge, dark, deep and forbidding. The 
road winds along the face of the precipitous sides, 
the last part of the descent being very steep and ex- 
ceedingly miry. Long before reaching the bottom 
the rushing sound of the waters can be heard. A 
mill spans the stream, the road being carried by a 
narrow bridge across the mill dam, and climbing the 
other side amid crags and boulders at so steep a grade 
that a firm seat and steady hand are necessary in 
making the ascent or descent. 

Pithole Creek obtains its name from some holes or 
small caverns in its sides from which a mephitic gas 
arises. A dog held close to one hole expired in a few 
minutes, and a goose, put into the hole, died in three 
minutes and soon became corrupt. A stone thrown 
into one of these holes can be heard rattling from 
ledge to ledge in its descent, until the sound dies out, 
rather than stops. The existence of these gas ex- 
haling caverns led several persons to sink wells in 
hope of finding oil, but, although some success was 
met with at the mouth of the Creek, no very encour 
aging results were obtained higher up until, about 
the middle of January, 1865, a well on the Holmden 
tract, about seven miles from the mouth of the Creek, 
and about five miles north-east of Plumer, in an un- 
developed territory, struck oil and flowed at the rate 
of 250 barrels per day. This created an immediate 
excitement, and Pithole Creek was swarmed with 
speculators eager to buy or lease every rod of land in 
the vicinity. The success of this well has demonstra- 
ted the fact that large supplies of oil can be obtain- 
ed above the line of Oil Creek, and has increased the 
expectations of up river oil seekers. 
3 



66 



PETROLEUM AND 



A peculiar circumstance connected with this Pit- 
hole well is the fact that it struck oil in what is known 
-as the fourth sand rock, being the only well in the 
oil regions that has reached that stratum. The first 
>sand rock was reached at 115 feet, the second at 340 
feet, the third at 480 feet, and the fourth at 600 feet. 
At 608 feet oil was struck. The well was drilled in 
November, but was not tubed until the middle of the 
following January. As soon as tubed the pump was 
set to work, and after an hour's pumping the oil 
began to flow, with the sucker rods in the chamber, 
at the rate of 250 barrels per day, at which rate it 
has steadily continued. The well is the property of 
the United States Petroleum Company. 

< After leaving Pithole Creek there is a good road on 
-either side of the river, all the way to Tidioute, the 
lulls falling back, or being less abrupt as the ascent 
of the stream is made, and better farming land ap- 
pearing on the bottoms and in the rifts of the hills. 

Tidioute, in Warren county, is the highest point on 
•the Alleghany where there are producing wells. 
Above that point there are several of what are known 
as " farmers' wells," sunk in 1860 and 1861 by hand 
to a shallow depth, and abandoned when the depress- 
ion in oil affairs occurred. Some attention has again 
been attracted to these wells, and preparations have 
been made for sinking them deeper, and also for test- 
ing the oil producing qualities of .Big Broken Straw 
Creek, w^hich enters the Alleghany above Tidioute, 

The Economite wells, owned by a religious sect 
known as the " Economites," are nearly opposite Ti- 
dioute. Five producing wells yield an aggregate of 
about sixty barrels daily, of heavy oil, the depth of 
none of the wells being over 120 feet. The Econo- 
mite wells are in the side of the steep bluff a little way 
up from the river. The " Bretheren" are putting 
down several new wells in similar locations. On the 



PETKOLEUM WELLS. 67 

flat across the river, some other parties have put 
down a well 600 feet without obtaining oil. 

About half a mile below is a well down nearly a 
thousand feet, belonging to the Tidioute and Alle- 
ghany Co. Only one sand rock has been passed 
through, at a depth of 150 feet. A good show of 
oil and gas has been obtained, but the deposit of oil 
has not yet been reached. On the other side of the- 
river are some shallow wells, of the same depth as 
the Economite wells, producing five to six barrels- 
daily of lubricating oil. 

Entering Venango county, the first point where- 
active operations have been commenced is at the- 
mouth of West Hickory Creek, on the upper part of 
what is known as the Hickory Town Flats. The 
land has been purchased by the Hickory Farm Oil 
Co. of New York, their property taking in about 
three hundred acres on both sides of the Creek, com- 
mencing at the river and running back in the form 
of an oblong parallelogram. The hills which close 
in on the stream through the greater part of its 
length, recede soon after entering the lands of the 
Company and leave a wide flat, on which there is- 
abundant space for a large number of wells, should 
there be found sufficient inducement, of which there 
is but little doubt. A short distance up the Creek 
a well was put down at a moderate depth about three 
years since by the owner of the land, and worked by 
a rude contrivance, part hand and part water. 
From this well, with such rude appliances, oil of 
superior quality is produced in considerable quantity 
whenever worked, proving the existence of a large 
and easily accessible vein in the neighborhood. An- 
other well, just below, was also put down over three 
years since, and a good show of oil obtained, but 
before completion it was abandoned, owing to the 
depressed state of the oil market and the troubled 



68 



petkoleum: and 



condition of the country, at the time when nearly all 
the wells were deserted from similar causes. 

Directly on the Company's property, and close to 
the mouth of the Creek, three Scotchmen, named 
McKinley, sank a well in 1861. They reached a 
depth of 233 feet and found a fine supply of oil, 
promising to yield them a rich return for their in- 
vestment and labor. Just as they were making 
preparations for tubing it the war commenced, and 
the owners of the well became so much alarmed at 
the condition of affairs that they abandoned their 
undertaking just as it was on the eve of resulting in 
such a splendid success, and their lease became 
forfeit. 

The Hickory Farm Oil Co. have entered with vigor 
on the work of developing their property. Three 
engines have been brought on the ground and der- 
ricks erected for sinking two new wells, besides drill- 
ing deeper at the McKinley well. A competent su- 
perintendent and force of men are on the ground and 
working busily. A great advantage possessed by 
the Company is the abundant supply of good fuel, 
about two hundred cords of hard wood having al- 
ready been got out for the use of the engines. All 
the wells are located near the river, so that the oil 
can be shipped without expense on steamers that can 
lie alongside, adding considerably to the value of the 
product. The strike, at Pithole Creek, of the Holm- 
den well, which is but a few miles distant from West 
Hickory, has greatly advanced the value of property, 
and speculators are eagerly seeking for a chance to 
invest. The Hickory Farm could be sold for one 
million dollars to divide among companies that are 
seeking territory, and numerous applications have 
beemmade for" leases, paying a royalty of one-half 
the oil. 

On the other side of the river, just opposite the 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 69 

McKinley well, is a well down 340 feet, tubed, 
and ready to pump, with a fine show of oil. The in- 
tensely cold weather has prevented further opera- 
tions. On East Hickory four wells are going down. 
About a hundred rods below the lower well of the 
Hickory Farm Co. a Pittsburgh company are putting 
down a well. All of the adjoining lands have been 
taken up at high prices, and in the spring there will 
be a large number of wells sunk in the neighborhood 
of the Hickory. 

About a mile below West Hickory Creek, on the 
same flat, is the property of the Pittsburgh and Al- 
leghany Valley Oil Co., covering about 229 acres, 
held in fee simple. The purchasers of this tract se- 
lected it with great shrewdness, by far the greater 
portion being of the character generally known as 
rich oil flats. The frontage on the river is about 
seven eighths of a mile, and through the property a 
stream finds its way to the river, the ravine through 
which it comes affording good boring territory back 
the whole depth of the farm. In ] 861 a well was 
sunk on the property to the depth of 220 feet, with 
a good show of oil, but was abandoned on account of 
the low price of the product. As yet no work has 
been done on the property by its present proprie- 
tors beyond the necessary preliminaries for commenc- 
ing operations, but the engines will soon be on the 
ground, and the work of properly developing the 
tract commenced. The extent of the borable terri- 
tory will enable the company to sink a large number 
of wells without interfering with each other's sup- 
ply, a consideration the value of which will be speed- 
ily recognized by those who have seen the difficulties 
and losses experienced on Oil Creek in consequence 
of the " interference" of wells in too great proximity. 
The stock of the company is $200,000, of which $20,- 
000 has been appropriated for working capital, and 



70 PETBOLEUM AND 

the remainder invested in the real estate. The man- 
agers of the company embrace some of the strongest 
names in Pittsburgh, the President, Dr. Curtis G. 
Hussey, and the Secretary and Treasurer, Thomas 
M. Howe, being names of high repute in the mining, 
financial, and commercial world. 

About half a mile below the Pittsburgh and Alle- 
ghany Company's tract is the Sowers Farm, on which 
is a well that was struck in 1861 and flowed largely, 
but which, like nearly all the wells in the country, 
was abandoned in consequence of the low price of 
oil. It has now been put in operation and rendered 
productive. 

Tionesta Creek comes in from the East a short dis- 
tance below the Sowers Farm, which lies on the 
"West bank. A few scattered houses and a tavern 
fronting the ferry landing, form the village of Tion- 
esta. Around the mouth of the Creek and along the 
banks of the river there are abundant evidences of 
oil speculation, past and present. Shallow wells, hast- 
ily abandoned in 1861, rear their time-stained der- 
ricks on every side, whilst workmen, busy getting 
out timber for new derricks, and eager, keen- eyed 
men, with traveling pouches strapped to their sides, 
out " prospecting" for desirable sites, show the revi- 
val of interest in oil matters. A number of islands 
stud the surface of the river from Tionesta, past 
Lower Tionesta Creek, down to within about a mile 
of President, and on many of these islands old der- 
ricks and new derricks rear their heads among the 
unshapely trees. 

The village of President, with its large, new, 
smart hotel, and its respectable gathering of houses, 
marks the junction of Hemlock Creek and Porcupine 
Run with the Alleghany ; above the village is the 
well of the Farrar Oil Co. The whole territory sur- 
rounding the village, and extending up Hemlock 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 71 

Creek and Porcupine Run in one direction, and down 
the river a considerable distance on the other, cover- 
ing in all 8,400 acres, is the property of the Presi- 
dent Petroleum Co., probably the largest corporation 
yet in the oil field, having a capital of five million 
dollars. Three wells are on the property, one near 
the McCrea Eun, having reached a depth of 400 feet, 
with good show of oil, and two others on the river 
front, just below, going down on a lease taken by the 
Heydrick brothers. 

Like Pithole Creek, Hemlock Creek has some strong 
manifestations of gas, or mephitic vapor. A story is 
told of three young men going along the valley in win- 
ter and finding the snow melted around a hole in the 
ground. One of them, a notoriously profane fellow, 
swore it was an opening into hell, and that he intend- 
ed warming his feet at the fire. His companions en- 
deavored to dissuade him, but he sat on the ground 
and stuck his feet in the hole, swearing with horrible 
oaths that he would warm his feet there if he had to 
go straight to hell in order to do it, and thanking the 
devil for finding him such an opportune supply of 
fuel. In a few minutes he stopped talking, and when 
his companions dragged him away he was totally in- 
sensible from the effects of the gas. His recovery 
was very difficult. 

Just below the President Co.'s tract, at the foot of 
a lofty bluff is the celebrated Heydrick Well, sunk 
three years ago by the Heydrick brothers, young 
men who lived on the land, and who early adven- 
tured in grease. The well flowed for a considerable 
time from four to five hundred barrels daily, and then 
pumped one hundred barrels. When oil fell to a 
mere nominal value, and an empty barrel was worth 
its contents in oil six times over, the well was allow- 
ed to remain idle It has now been started up again 
and is making from twenty-five to thirty barrels 



72 PETROLEUM AND 

daily. The farm was owned by two Heydrick broth- 
ers and a brother-in-law, who like most of the farm- 
ers in the oil regions, had enough to do to make both 
ends meet. The well sunk on their lands has been 
leased by the Farmers & Mechaincs Co., who pay the 
Heydricks half the oil, a tribute which puts a com- 
fortable sum daily in their pockets. Four years ago 
a big flowing well was gushing out oil next to the 
Heydrick property, under the management of a 
Michigan Company. When the Heydrick well was 
struck, the Michigan well stopped, and no attempts 
have, so far as we could learn, been made to recover 
the vein. The Heydrick well has flowed and pumped, 
to the present time, over thirty thousand barrels. 

On the west bank of the river, directly opposite 
the Heydrick well, is the Henry Farm, the property 
of Hussey & McBride, on which there are several 
productive wells. One has been flowing and pump- 
ing with large returns for two years, and now yields 
forty barrels a day. Another " struck oil" at the 
depth of 400 feet, and is yielding a hundred barrels 
a day. Still another recently struck oil and is giving 
large returns. But the principal well was sunk in 
1861, and at the depth of 242 feet, obtained a flow 
of oil that bewildered the proprietors. The greasy 
fluid gushed up at the rate of three hundred barrels 
a day, and continued to flow for three months. What 
to do with the oil was a puzzle. Barrels could not 
be got to ship it to market, nor vats to hold it on 
the ground. Oil was down in the market, bringing 
but ten to fifteen cents a barrel. There were no re- 
fineries in the neighborhood, and like the man who 
won the elephant in the raffle, the proprietors of the 
flowing well were " put to their trumps", to know 
what to do with their prize. A little ravine close by 
was dammed up and the oil turned into it until about 
an acre of pure oil covered the ground two or three 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 73 

feet deep. At last, in despair, the tube was stopped 
with a pine plug, but the grease oozed up and escap- 
ed. At last the tube was bound over with the never 
failing seed bag, and then the oil burst through the 
earth and escaped into the river. Since then the 
well has remained plugged, but it is now to be deep- 
ened and re-tubed, when it is expected the old vein 
will be again reached. 

Next above the Henry Farm, and lying across the 
mouth of Culbertson Run, is the property of the 
Beekman Oil Co , on which there are three wells, 
having a good yield of oil. Beyond this, on the 
McOrea Flats, is the Kelley well, now owned by the 
Cleveland and Buffalo Petroleum Co. This well 
pumps from twenty to twenty-five barrels of oil daily, 
of a superior quality, and has enabled the managers 
to declare two monthly dividends of one per cent, 
each. Considering that the Company has been but 
a few months in existence, this immediate large re- 
turn on the investment speaks highly of the value 
of the property. The well, together with two and 
a half acres of land adjoining, affording room for 
five other wells, is held by perpetual lease. The en- 
lire flat on which the Kelley well is situated, extend- 
ing from the lower boundary of the Henry Farm to 
a point a considerable distance up the river, has 
proved to be highly productive oil territory, and the 
fact that the wells in the neighborhood all struck oil 
at a depth less than three hundred feet, renders the 
sinking of new wells a matter of much less expense 
than in the majority of oil localities. The proximity 
of the wells to the river, increases the value of the 
oil by decreasing the cost of transportation. 

Besides the leasehold property, the Cleveland and 
Buffalo Co. have a tract in fee simple of eighty acres 
on Culbertson Run, a short distance above the prop- 
erty of the Beekman Oil Co., the tract taking in the 



74 PETROLEUM AND 

well wooded hill-side, on which is fuel sufficient for 
the engines for a considerable time, and a fine river 
bottom on which there is room for several wells. 
Part of the tract is bounded by the stream, and part 
takes in both sides. This part of the Company's 
property promises to be the most valuable portion 
when properly developed, as it soon will be, the sur- 
face indications being unusually rich, whilst the prox- 
imity of so many highly productive wells gives 
ground for strong hopes of a "big strike." The 
Company is mostly composed of Cleveland business 
men, numbering among them members of the leading 
firms in the produce and shipping trade, who have 
gone into the enterprise as a permanent investment. 
Near the property of the Cleveland and Buffalo 
Company, on Culbertson Eun, is that of the McCrea 
Petroleum Company of Pittsburgh, a company organ- 
ized with a capital of $80,000, of which $20,000 has 
been set aside as working capital, and is now in the 
treasury. The tract leased by the McCrea Co. is 
partly on the opposite side of the Eun to that of the 
Cleveland and Buffalo Co., and also overlaps the 
stream for a short distance. A well was sunk on 
the property in 1861, reaching 280 feet with a fine 
show of oil, when the break-down in the price of oil 
occurred, and the well was abandoned. Two en- 
gines have been purchased and are on the ground, to 
sink new wells, besides drilling the old one deeper. 
The lease was effected on highly favorable terms, 
paying a royalty of only one-quarter the oil, and ap- 
plications have already been made for sub- leases on 
condition of half the oil, giving one quarter clear to 
the company, in addition to three-fourths clear from 
their own wells. Tiie character of the enterprise 
may be inferred from the fact that a very small por- 
tion of its stock has been put on the market, the 
owners considering they have too good a thing to 



PETKOLEUM WELLS. 75 

part with, much of their interest. The directors are 
some of the best business men of Pittsburgh. 

On the McOrea Farm, lying between the property 
-of the Beekman Co. and the lands of the McOrea 
Co. and Cleveland and Buffalo Co., is the territory 
of the Eagle Co. of Philadelphia, which "struck oil" 
•during the last week of January, in one of their wells, 
which is now running over fifty barrels daily. This 
strike has made the property of other companies in 
the neighborhood increase greatly in value. 

Past Pithole Creek, with the numerous wells clus- 
tered around its mouth, some of them producing a 
fair yield, down to Walnut Bend and Walnut Island. 
All along, the numerous spires of smoke from engine 
houses, the creak and wheeze of engines, and the 
steady plash in the black and greasy vats, told the 
story of remuneration for faith and labor. On Wal- 
nut Island a hundred barrel well was struck early 
in January this year, and gives signs of increasing. 

From this point down the bluffs increase in height 
and steepness, and the flats are generally of less ex- 
tent. Derricks line the narrow path at the foot of 
the bluffs, sometimes climb part of the way up the 
sides, and are planted thickly wherever there is a 
moderately wide shelf, or where a stream makes an 
opening in the hills. At Horse Creek, on the East 
side of the river, the Ross Oil Co.'s well is pumping 
about twenty barrels per day, and some other wells 
on that side are doing more or less, among them be- 
ing the Wheeler well, doing thirty barrels. On the 
West side of the river, after getting a short distance 
below Walnut Bend, is the Hulings well, pumping 
twenty barrels. The Phillips well, unproductive, 
having stopped its yield some time since ; the mana- 
gers are putting down a new well. The Revenue 
well, opened three years ago, abandoned, and now run- 
ning under new management about twenty-five barrels 



76 PETROLEUM AND 

a day. The gas from this well is used to save a part 
of the fuel in the engine fires. About opposite Horse 
Creek is the Brady Bend well, formerly flowing, now 
pumping ; College and Kincaid and Porter wells, 
four years old, and now revived and pumping each 
eight barrels per day. Kincaid new well, that pump- 
ed sixty barrels per day for the first three days of 
its working in November, and now doing finely. 
Harrington well, pumping twenty-five barrels. 

Farther down stream is the well of Long & Gay* 
pumping at a depth of 530 feet, with a fair yield. 
Beyond are the wells of Purchase & Co., two wells 
sunk in 1861 and abandoned, now cleaned out and 
pumped with one engine. One well commenced 
pumping in September, 1864, at the depth of 348- 
feet, yielding fifteen barrels, with considerable gas. 
The other was pumped two months later, and gives 
twenty-two barrels, from a depth of 517 feet. Five 
minutes walk distant is a well down 530 feet with a 
fair show of oil. The derrick bears the legend of 
" Oil or China," and the borer swore he would either 
raise the oil or send his drill " up " through some 
Chinaman's cellar floor. Still nearer Oil City is the 
Alcorn Farm, on which are the two wells leased by 
the Cleveland and Cherry Valley Co. One of these 
wells is down 600 feet, and has commenced pumping 
oil, with every prospect of yielding in the neighbor- 
hood of one hundred barrels daily as soon as proper- 
ly worked. The other well is down 200 feet, with 
a good show of oil. These wells will undoubtedly 
prove a valuable adjunct to the other property of 
the company, and enable them to pay good divi- 
dends on the stock. 

From this point to Oil City, about one mile, there 
are a number of old wells and new wells, the latter 
just commenced to go down, and some of the former 
recently cleaned out and prepared to be sunk deeper. 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 77 

From Oil City to Franklin is seven miles. During 
the season of navigation a small steamboat runs be- 
tween the two points, but when ice runs strongly the 
steamer finds the pressure too much, and does not 
run in opposition. The Franklin Branch of the At- 
lantic & Great Western Railroad is completed to Oil 
Oity, and the cars will soon be running. The James- 
town and Franklin Railroad charter gives the right 
to construct a line to Oil City, but as yet the right 
to build is all there is of it. One line of conveyance 
is in full operation during all seasons, — that of " Foot 
and Walker," and it was by this line I made the 
journey. 

The scenery along this part of the Alleghany river 
differs but little from that above Oil City, which has 
already been described. Where the bluffs approach, 
the river they tower up to a considerable height, 
rising abruptly from the water, and having their 
craggy sides partly covered with timber. Where 
the bluffs recede, there is, between them and the 
river, a strip of tillable land, sometimes a quarter of 
a mile wide, and then narrowing to a mere ribbon, 
which is at length terminated by the steep bluffs. 
These intervals of low land generally consist of two 
levels, one but little above high water mark, and the 
Other a plateau from ten to thirty feet above. 

All along the river bank, on both sides, are oil 
wells, some of them yielding successfully, and others 
not yet sunk to the oil basin. Most of the wells are 
sunk on the strip of low land immediately adjoining 
the river, but a few are on the plateau, and several 
along the base of the steep bluffs or on ledges a few 
feet up the face of the bluff. Several of the wells 
gave good evidence of a fair yield, the stream of oil 
being of paying size and good color. Few have as yet 
properly developed their property, not having gone 
down to the third sandstone, which here lies deep, but 



78 PETROLEUM AND 

•contenting themselves with the yield from the less 
productive second sand-stone. 

From Two Mile Eun to Franklin there are several 
wells either producing or going down. A short dis- 
tance below Two Mile Run, and about a mile above 
Franklin on the South bank of the river, is the prop- 
erty of the Milton Farm Oil Co., lying in one of those 
bits of low land, formed by the recession of the bluffs 
from the river, and through it Milton Eun finds its 
way to the Alleghany. The territory purchased 
occupies twenty or thirty acres, extending from the 
river to the face of the bluff, to prevent any other 
claim getting behind to tap the oil vein, but not 
including any of the hill tops, consequently it is all 
borable property, affording room for a number of 
wells. But little of the oil property along this part 
of the Alleghany has the advantage of " creeks " or 
*' runs," depending solely on the fact that it fronts 
the river. In this respect the Milton Farm is favora- 
bly situated, having the river front, as well as both 
banks of " run " to bore into. The river frontage 
extends for a quarter of a mile, affording ample space 
for sinking twenty wells. The Company, w T hose 
headquarters are in Cleveland, have an ample cash 
capital for sinking three or four wells, which they 
are preparing to do at once. Among those princi- 
pally interested in the company are Anson Stager, 
General Superintendent of Western Union Telegraph, 
Geo. B. Hicks, inventor of the Hicks Telegraph Re- 
peater, H. Garrettson, Amos Townsend, Lemuel 
Crawford, and other leading business men of Cleve- 
land. Three wells are going down on the land im- 
mediately adjoining, and on the same reach of low 
land. On the opposite side of the river, and a little 
below is a well that has been for some time produc- 
ing a fine yield of lubricating oil. 

The fact that all the wells along this part of the 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 79* 

river are only down to the second sandstone, makes 
it evident that they can not give as large a yield as 
the great flowing wells on Oil Creek, that are down 
to the third rock. But the corresponding fact that 
the second rock wells all yield lubricating oil, com- 
manding more than double the price of the Oil Creek 
product, is a complete offset to the smaller yield. 
By boring from thirteen hundred to two thousand- 
feet, it is believed that the third sand rock can bo 
reached, with a greater flow of oil than can now be- 
obtained on Oil Creek. The correctness or error of 
this assumption will be tested before long, as, lower 
down the river, some well owners think cf sinking 
two thousand feet, if the third rock is not found at a 
less depth. The fact of the superior facilities for 
shipment possessed by wells on the river, especially 
within the limits of regular steamboat navigation, is 
too self-evident to need argument. It is enough to 
add that the expense of getting the oil to the piace- 
of shipment is always taken out of the price of the 
oil at the wells, and that oil produced on the river- 
will always therefore bring a higher price than the 
same quality produced at a less accessible place. 

Passing several wells in operation, old wells being 
cleaned out and prepared for re-working, and new 
wells boring, Franklin was at length reached, the 
quaint old capital of Venango county, with its old 
fashioned houses, its muddy streets, and its miserable 
tumble-down Court-house, in which land sales of from: 
one to three million dollars a day are recorded, and 
documents of incalculable value are stored without a 
vault to protect them from the accident of fire. Tho 
average consumption of revenue stamps in the Ke- 
corder's office is estimated at about $500 per day, 
making a very handsome revenue to the government. 

Franklin is a very old settlement, being the site of' 
three forts, Fort Venango, established by the French,. 



80 PETROLEUM AND 

a fort built by the British, and Fort Franklin, built 
by the Americans in the war of independence. In 
1795, the town of Franklin was laid out on the site 
of the last named fort, and afterwards became the 
capital of Venango county. 

It now contains a population of about thirty-five 
hundred, and is a growing place. A suspension bridge 
spans the river at this point, the old bridge having 
been burned down over eighteen months since, by 
some blazing oil boats that took fire in the great con- 
flagration at Oil City. Franklin is the present ter- 
minus of the branch of the Atlantic & Great Western 
Railway, over which a very large business is done. 
The Jamestown & Franklin Railroad, partially built, 
will also connect Franklin with Cleveland and Buffalo, 
by way of Ashtabula and the Lake Shore Railroad. 

There are several wells in operation within the 
borough limits, and the product is very satisfactory 
to the owners. Below Franklin, the river is lined 
with wells for several miles, many new ones going 
down, and several old ones flowing and pumping. 
Among the producing wells are the Keystone Well, 
pumping about four barrels ; the Lee Well, about 500 
feet deep, and flowing about fifty barrels ; the Dale & 
Morrow Well, pumping about thirty barrels from a 
depth of 450 feet ; the Hoover-Island Well, on the 
first island below Franklin, pumping and flowing 
seventy-five barrels daily. A number of wells with 
fair yield of oil are scattered along the river to a 
distance of several miles. East Sandy, Big Sandy, 
and Scrub Grass Creeks, flowing into the Alleghany, 
are also occupied as oil territory, and operations have 
been pushed vigorously on the Big Sandy. 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 81 



FRENCH CHEEK, SUGAR CREEK, AND OTHER OIL 
LOCALITIES. 



From Franklin to Meadville, twenty-eight miles, 
the Franklin Branch of the Atlantic & Great Western 
Railway runs along the bank of French Creek, an 
important and pretty stream, considerably larger than. 
Oil Creek, during the greater part of its length, and 
also deeper. For several miles up the Creek there 
are old wells and new wells, several of the latter 
producing oil; among the most noted being one on 
the Sutley Farm, a short distance above Franklin^ 
and the well of the Tallman Co., near Utica Station. 
The oil produced on French Creek, being of a heavy 
lubricating quality, bears a higher value than that 
of Oil Creek. The land along nearly the whole 
length of the Creek has been purchased or leased for 
boring, and most of the abandoned wells of 1861 
have been taken by new companies who have the 
capital and energy to properly test the property. 

A favorite region at the present time is Sugar Creek 
which takes its rise in Cherry Tree township, Ve- 
nango county, on the same tract out of which Cherry 
Tree Run flows. It passes through the borders of 
Plum and Oakland townships, in a S. W. direction, 
to Cooperstown in Jackson township, and then runs 
nearly due south through Sugar Creek township to 
French Creek, which it strikes about two miles above 
Franklin. It receives several branches, the largest 
of which is West Sugar Creek, which rises in Sugar 
Lake, just over the Crawford county border, and 



82 PETROLEUM AND 

joins the main creek at Cooperstown. Through its 
whole course it passes through a fine farming country,, 
the cultivated flats and hillsides and good roads af- 
fording in this respect a decided contrast to some 
portions of the oil regions. 

The Creek is not large enough to afford water fa- 
cilities for shipping oil, but a good road keeps along 
the flat valley to the junction with French Creek, 
four miles, where there is a station on the Franklin 
Branch of the Atlantic and Great Western Railway. 
In passing up the Creek, evidences of explorations 
for oil, and of the oil itself, become speedily visible. 
At the mouth, a well is located, and as the ascent of 
the stream is made, other wells in various stages of 
progress come into view. On the McCalmont farm, 
about two miles and a half above French Creek, is a 
well put down, about three years since, and worked 
by water power. In all, from three to four hundred 
barrels of heavy lubricating oil have been obtained 
from this well, such as now sells at $20 to $25 per 
barrel at the well. The hole was only sunk to the 
second sand rock, reaching a depth of 312 feet, none 
of the old wells on this creek having gone to a great- 
er depth or penetrated beyond the second sand rock, 
the supply of heavy oil having induced the owners 
to stop at that point. A company from Eochester 
leased the well, put up an engine, and in a very 
short time struck a vein of pure lubricating oil. 
" From this point up there are several wells and 
derricks, but few producing anything of consequence 
until Cooperstown is reached. Immediately above 
the village, on the Booth and Hillier Farm, a well 
similar to that on the McCalmont Farm was put 
down 312 feet by water power, when it struck lubri- 
cating oil. The well has been purchased by two ex- 
perienced parties from Oil Creek, who are confident 
of finding a good supply of oil in the third sand rock,. 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 83 

toward which they are boring, having reached a 
•depth of 600 feet. Two wells are going down on the 
Sweeney farm next above, one having got down 100 
feet, and the other 300 feet, the latter striking oil at 
.80 feet. 

Adjoining Cooperstown on the south, and partly 
bounded by the borough line, is the farm of the Sugar 
Creek Co. of Cleveland, containing one hundred 
.acres, a large proportion of which is good boring 
territory. On an island included in the property, is 
a well put down three years ago by hand, to a depth 
of 297 feet, with a good show of oil. When the 
panic occurred the well was abandoned. It has now 
been leased and will soon be sunk deeper and tubed. 
Another well is going down on the property, and 
preparations made for a third well. A Company from 
Cleveland and Sandusky have purchased the Alex- 
ander farm, next below the Smith farm, and are pre- 
paring to sink wells. 

From Cooperstown to Utica is but a short drive, 
and not a long walk. There the cars can be taken 
for Meadville, and thus the grand circuit of the Ven- 
ango County oil regions be completed. The weary 
traveler will be glad to exchange the discomforts and 
hardships of his tour for the warm welcome and lux- 
urious comforts that await him at the McHenry 
House. 

In the foregoing pages a full description has been 
given of the oil regions of Venango county, Penn- 
sylvania. There are, however, several other locali- 
"ties in the State where oil indications exist, and 
where the work of development has been commenced. 
In Warren county, the presumed oil territory lies 
along the banks of the Alleghany Eiver and Big 
Broken Straw Creek. Upper Oil Creek in Crawford 
■county, and Upper French Creek in Crawford and 
Erie counties, have been taken up for oil territory. 



84 PETROLEUM AND 

The Clarion River, through Clarion, Elk, Forest and 
Jefferson Counties, is the scene of a great oil excite- 
ment. South of Pittsburgh, in Fayette and Greene 
counties, numerous wells are sinking on Dunkard 
Creek. But in all these the operations are but com- 
mencing, and whether the developments will equal 
those of Venango county, remains to be proved. 



I l H 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 85 



WEST VIRGINIA AND SOUTHERN OHIO OIL 
REGIONS. 



The oil region of West Virginia is an unmistakable 
and well defined geological formation, known as the 
"up-heaval" or "Great Oil Belt," extending from 
the Ohio River, opposite the little Muskingum and 
Duck Creek, about forty miles in a direction a little 
west of south, varying in width from three to ten, or 
perhaps fifteen miles. The rocks are peculiarly dis- 
turbed and broken ; the hills, along the numerous 
streams and gorges, varying from one to three hun- 
dred feet high ; and along the centre of the belt the 
rocks are nearly vertical, but dip at various angles 
as they recede on either side, forming what is called 
the East and West slopes. By some convulsion of 
nature, the rocks appear to have been " up-heaved, 7 
and separated, making deep ravines, gorges and 
gullies, many of which have become the permanent 
beds of streams, along the bottoms of which is found 
the " boring territory" as indicated by the color and 
character of the rocks, and the presence of oil, both 
on the surface and oozing from the fissures of the 
rocks. 

The principal streams arising in, and running 
through these gorges or openings, and penetrating 
the Great Oil Belt, are the Little Kanawha, Hughes 
River, with its North and South Forks ; Goose Creek, 
with its Laurel, Pigeon Roost, Myers, Oil Run, Ellis', 
Buffalo, and First and Second Big Run Forks; Mill- 
Site Run; Walker's Greek, with its Straight Walker 



86 PETROLEUM AND 

Fork, Silver Eun and Bee Tree Kim Forks; Still well 
Creek, with several forks; Bull Greek, with, its Horse 
Neck and Isaac Forks; Cow Creek; Calf Creek; Bawl- 
son Bun Fork; French Creek ; Standing Stone Creek; 
Burning Spring Bun, and other streams of less note. 

This Oil Begion is completely undeveloped, yet 
the existence of Betroleum or British Oil, as it was 
called by the settlers, has been known for more than 
fifty years. Thousands of barrels of oil have been 
taken from pits sunk in the sand on the banks of 
Hughes Biver. In 1860-1 the high oil fever existing 
in the Venango Valley of Bennsylvania, spread out 
to this region, and several enterprising companies 
and individuals commenced boring for oil, on the 
Hughes Biver at Oil Springs, and on the Kanawha 
at Burning Springs. At the former place a flowing 
well was struck, which up to to-day, continues to flow 
at the same rate as when first opened, from two to 
six barrels of oil per day. At the Burning Springs, 
the great Llewellyn well was struck, which flowed for 
several months at the rate of from fourteen hundred 
to two thousand barrels per day, and is still largely 
productive. A great many wells were commenced 
at different localities; some on Cow Creek, Stillwell, 
Oil Creek, Walker's Creek, and the creeks near the 
Burning Springs, all of which, that were nob broken 
up by the Bebels at the beginning of the Rebel- 
lion, produced oil in greater or less quantities. 
The fifteen or sixteen wells on Oil Creek, at Betro- 
leum, yielded, and still continue to yield, from two 
to three hundred barrels of superior lubricating oil 
per month, their depth being only from 80 to 160 
feet. 

On account of the Rebellion, all operations were 
suspended from 1861, up to Sheridan's successes in 
1864. Since then this region has been the theatre of 
the most intense excitement. Experienced oil men 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 87 

from Pennsylvania have secured large tracts of oil 
territory ; numerous enterprising companies have 
been formed, securing hundreds of acres of the 
choicest boring territory, and to-day, where but re- 
cently all was so still and desolate, may be seen nearly 
three hundred derricks, and the cheerful puffing of 
as many engines. 

It is a fact, worthy of consideration, that not a 
single well has been abandoned on account of the 
failure or non-appearance of oil, while in almost all 
other oil regions, a large number have been aban- 
doned as " dry wells." It is believed that no greater 
or more productive wells have been opened in any 
region, than in West Virginia, and in proportion to 
the time spent and capital invested, no where has the 
enterprising oil seeker found a more sure and abun- 
dant return. The development in Pennsylvania be- 
gan about ten years ago, a vast amount of capital 
has been expended, and nothing has occurred to re- 
tard the vigorous prosecution of explorations. The 
success there has been very great, almost fabulous. 
In West Va., the enterprise is but just begun, yet 
all experienced oil men, and the most skilful geolo- 
gists, concur in the belief that the same time and 
similar enterprise will develop here an equal, if not 
a greater yield of oil. At Horse Neck there are some 
twenty wells, producing from ten to sixty barrels 
per day. D. H. Wallace, in company with the Phil- 
lipses of Oil Creek, own about 5,000 acres of oil ter- 
ritory on and in the vicinity of Bull, Cow and Calf 
Creeks, and have some sixty wells in operation, or 
in process of boring, with suitable engines. There 
are several wells going down on Stillwell, one on 
Walker's Creek, by Mr. Murray, near the Smith farm, 
having a fine show of oil at the depth of 160 feet, 
and having at 30 feet gone through a stratum of cop- 
per ore, of superior quality, about 13 feet thick. Mr. 



88 PETROLEUM AND 

Candy has two wells in progress above the Petroleum 
Wells. The Great Belt Oil Company, of Cleveland, 
have one well down over three hundred feet on the 
Hall farm, and one 260 feet on the Sharpnack farm, 
near the il Oil Springs," with oil sufficient to warrant 
tubing. The wells on Oil Creek, known as the Pe- 
troleum Wells, are doing finely, considering the fact 
that fifteen of them are pumped by one engine. That 
Company is putting down several new wells, with 
every show of success. 

The Baltimore Company, Mr. Cannon, President, 
are prosecuting their works with becoming energy 
near the Oil Springs, on Mill-side Run, just below 
the Sharpnack Farm of the Great Belt Oil Company, 
where they have one well down over five hundred 
feet with every prospect of success, and two more 
engines and derricks up and nearly ready for work. 
The wells in the vicinity of Burning Springs are all 
making a good yield, and next spring a large num- 
ber of wells will be put down on the Rathbone tracts 
and on the Standing Stone, by several enterprising 
companies. 

From the number of working companies formed, it 
is safe to predict that during the coming year rich 
developments will be made, and great wealth accu- 
mulated in the region of the Great Oil Belt of West 
Virginia. 

The region of country across the Ohio River, in 
Ohio, in the line of the Great Belt, of West Virginia, 
is being rapidly taken up and developed, and bids 
fair to prove no insignificant rival to the better known 
localities of Oil Creek, Pa., and Kanawha Valley, 
West Va. Five paying wells have been struck on 
Duck Creek, Wolf Creek and Buffalo Creek, and 
further discoveries are constantly making as the 
drills, in different localities, go down. 

The oil found in West Virginia and Southern Ohio 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 89 

is of a superior quality. Most of the shallow wells 
produce a lubricating oil, very heavy and of great 
value, the illuminating oil having none of the offen- 
sive odor that is sometimes found ; it is of excellent 
quality for refining. The lubricating oil commands 
readily $30 at the wells. Geologists and experienc- 
ed oil men concur in the belief that the illuminating 
oils will be found by sinking the wells producing the 
lubricating oil to or through the third sand stone. 

So far as has yet been discovered by boring, the 
description and stratas of rocks in the West Virginia 
region are the same as those in Venango county, 
Pennsylvania. The upheaval is composed of a red- 
dish brown sand stone. The strata below, as found 
by boring in the valleys of the streams, are about as 
follows in both regions, varying somewhat as the 
break or the slopes of the Belt are approached : first 
sand stone from 30 to 200 feet ; soft rock or shale, 
from 10 to 100 feet ; second sand stone, from 50 to 
150 feet ; shale or soap stone, 10 to 30 feet ; third 
sand stone, from 60 to 100 feet : shale or soap stone, 
from 30 to 50 feet ; fourth sand stone, from 60 to 
100 feet ; lime stone. 



90 PETROLEUM AND 



THE OIL REGIONS OF LIVERPOOL, OHIO. 



Attention has recently been attracted to the neigh- 
borhood of Liverpool, in Medina county, Ohio, as a 
place for the production of petroleum. Oil of a su- 
perior quality had been known to exist there for 
many years, and small quantities have been produc- 
ed and used for various purposes for nearly half a 
century. In the winter of 1860-61 several wells 
were sunk for the purpose of obtaining oil, and some 
of them yielded a fair supply of a very superior 
quality. None of them had been properly tested 
when the discovery of the flowing wells on Oil Creek, 
and the consequent glut of the oil market, caused the 
abandonment of all wells producing in small quanti- 
ty, and the suspension of all experiments in develop- 
ing the value of oil territory. From that time until 
the present no systematized effort has been made to 
produce oil from the wells already sunk at Liverpool, 
or to make a more thorough test of the extent of the 
oil deposit. 

To reach Liverpool, take the train from Cleveland 
to Grafton, 26 miles, when a ride of nine miles on a 
good road brings the visitor to his destination. The 
road from Grafton to Liverpool is mostly over level 
table land, the surface soil being clay, giving a good 
road in dry or very cold weather, but very heavy 
traveling after rain. A few slight depressions on 
the way break the general uniformity of level, and 
in most of these depressions there are greater or less 
indications of oil. 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 91 

When near Liverpool the ground drops abruptly 
to the flat valley through which the West Branch of 
Rocky River flows in its serpentine course. At this 
point and for about two miles below, the valley is 
wider than above or below, forming a hollow lake-like 
basin. The immediate banks of the stream are from 
six to ten feet high above, this being a dead level 
until the boundaries of the valley are reached, where 
the banks are from thirty to sixty feet in length, 
increasing in height and abruptness towards the 
lower end of the basin. The village of Liverpool 
stands at the upper end of the basin. 

Below the village a short distance is what is 
known as the "Oil Spring," being a salt well sunk, 
in 1819, about a half a mile below the village, on the 
west bank of the river. The well struck the sand- 
stone at the depth of ninety feet, when oil came up 
accompanied with explosions of gas that terrified the 
borers. The well was bored still deeper, reaching in 
all a depth of 160 feet. Salt water was found, but 
the salt was in such small proportion as not to be 
profitable, and the large admixture of thick oil dam- 
aged the quality of the salt. 

A hollow wooden tube was sunk in the well, and 
through this oil came up, accompanied by frequent 
rumblings and explosions of gas. A hand pump was 
used, and sometimes two barrels of oil a day were 
obtained. The spontaneous flow of oil enabled the 
owner of the well to dip off about a barrel in a week. 
A number of years since three barrels of the oil were 
taken to Cleveland and offered for sale at the drug 
stores as "rock oil," to be used as a cure for rheuma- 
tism, but the quantity was too great, and no one 
would buy it. It was used in the country around 
Liverpool as a "sovereign cure for the rheumatics, v 
also as a remedy for hoarseness and sore throat, and 
as a lubricator for machinery and cart wheels. 



92 PETROLEUM AND 

In the winter of 1860-61, a number of experiments 
were made along the valley for the purpose of devel- 
oping its value as oil territory. At Marysville, a 
hole was sunk two hundred feet by G. V. Harper. 
The drill passed through two layers of soapstone and 
one of sandstone. A good show of oil was obtained, 
when the owner of the well conceived the idea that 
by blasting the rock at the bottom of the hole he 
could shatter it and form a cavity into which the oil 
could flow, and then be pumped up. He put down 
a gas pipe, through which he dropped powder and 
then exploded it. The rock was shattered, and so 
was the gas pipe, which remained firmly fixed in the 
hole, and is still there. The force of the explosion 
drove up the oil into the river in a number of places, 
but whether it accomplished the object of making a 
cavity and filling it with oil is a question that has not 
been solved. 

Near the Harper well, on land belonging to 
Thomas and William Purdy, the late Colonel Heman 
Canfield, of Medina, bored a hole in the bed of the 
river, and struck oil at the depth of ninety feet. 
He put in a gas pipe and pumped the hole by hand, 
getting about a barrel per day. A flood soon after 
raised the stream, and the running ice bent the pipe 
and stuck it fast in the hole, so that it could not be 
worked. Col. Canfield abandoned the river well, 
and sunk a second well on the bank, reaching the 
sandstone at the depth of 120 feet. A small quantity 
of oil was found. 

Four wells were bored by Col. Whittlesey, neither 
of them being driven into the sand stone. A large 
shaft was sunk at another point, to a depth of sixty 
feet, and a hole bored from its bottom to an equal 
depth below. Heavy oil was found, and about thir- 
ty barrels obtained, when the price fell and the well 
was abandoned. 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 93 

Another well was sunk near the last well of Ooh 
Whittlesey — or the Doming well, as it is now called 
— by Messrs. Oarr and Tillotson. This hole was put 
down 110 feet to the sandstone, but not finding the 
oil in the shale rock, where it was then supposed the 
deposit existed, the work was stopped. 

In the heart of the village of Liverpool a tinman 
named Born sank a well in his back yard to the 
depth of 132 feet, when oil was struck. A hand 
pump was put in, and subsequently a very small en- 
gine was used. A number of barrels were obtained 
in this way, when oil fell to such a low price that 
only five dollars a barrel could be got, including bar- 
rels and hauling to market. The pump was taken 
out and the engine sold. The oil now lies in con- 
siderable quantity on the surface of the water in the 
well, and Mr. Born dips it up by attaching a tin ves- 
sel to a pole. He sells it to the village neighbors 
and the farmers for lubricating purposes. 

About tfcwo miles above Liverpool, a well was sunk 
by Howard & Ford to the depth of 130 feet. They 
abandoned it before reaching the sand rock, although 
good indications of oil were found. 

An old man named Farnsworth, a machinist, hav- 
ing a shop in the side of the hill to the south-east of 
the village, bored a hole in the bed of a small stream, 
sinking it 212 feet. The drill passed through the 
upper crust of sand stone, and struck the shale rock 
below. Considerable gas came up, but no oil in any 
quantity. 

In summing up the results of these experiments it 
appears that of the thirteen wells, in all, sunk in 
what may be called the Liverpool basin, and near it 
only six penetrated the sandstone, the others stopping 
at the sandstone, or before reaching it. Of the six that 
penetrated the sandstone, five found oil ; the sixth 
passed through the first sand stone into shale, and 



94 PETROLEUM AND 

there stopped, finding gas, but no oil. One of the 
five that found oil entered slightly a second layer of 
sand stone. The first sand stone was struck at a 
depth of 90 to 132 feet. The deepest well sunk was: 
212 feet. No effort has hitherto been made to pene- 
trate to the lower beds of sand stone, in which it is 
believed by many that large deposits of oil exist. 

That oil of a very superior quality exists in the 
Liverpool basin, there is ocular and olfactory evi- 
dence. It is forced up by the gas at the old oil 
spring ; it floats to the depth of several inches on the 
water in the Deming well ; and the people of the 
whole country-side use it commonly. It is brown- 
ish-black in color, and about the thickness of ordina- 
ry molasses. Samples have been shown to Cleveland 
oil dealers, who offer $50 per barrel for it as a lubri- 
cator. At this rate, a well producing three barrels 
daily would pay a handsome profit. 

Vigorous preparations are making for the proper 
development of the oil resources of the basin. The 
pioneer in the work is the Liverpool Oil Company, of 
Cleveland, which has effected leases on favorable 
terms of between four and five hundred acres, hav- 
ing a frontage on the river and the tributary streams 
of about three miles. On their territory are three 
of the holes bored by Col. Whittlesey to the sand 
stone, and the large well sunk by him, now known as 
the Deming well. At this well their first operations 
"have commenced. After the water in the hole had 
been pumped out several barrels of heavy lubricat- 
ing oil was found, but the engine was too small to 
operate properly, and a new and more powerful one 
was ordered. In the mean time the engine has been 
set to work drilling a new hole a short distance from 
the present well. Another well is sinking near the 
" Oil Spring Lot," with fine show of oil. 

The extent and character of the territory covered 



PETROLEUM WELLS. 95 

by the leases of the Liverpool Oil Company afford 
abundant opportunity for thoroughly testing the re- 
sources of the basin, and the prospect so far as can 
be judged from the experiments already made, is 
very promising. In order to settle the question as 
to the existence of large deposits of oil in the lower 
sand stone rocks, some deep wells will be sunk. The 
terms on which the leases have been obtained are 
highly favorable, and the company have capital to 
prosecute the work with energy. A large number 
of the active and able business men of Cleveland are 
interested in the company and direct its affairs. 

Besides the Liverpool Oil Company, over twenty 
different companies and individual adventurers have 
made purchases and leases for the purpose of thor- 
oughly developing the oil resources of the locality. 
The old salt well has been purchased with other pro- 
perty, by a company, and its value as an oil well 
will soon be tested. Leases and purchases have also 
been effected in the neighboring township of Graf- 
ton, and there is every prospect that before many 
months the valley of Rocky River will be planted as 
thickly with derricks as some of the most productive 
ravines of Venango county. 



WEIKEL RUN & M C ELHIMY 

OIL COMPANY. 

• 

CAPITAL, ----.- $230,000. 

2300 SHARES, $100 EACH. 

$40,000 to be Reserved for Developing Property* 

• 

A. B. STONE ------ President. 

D. P. EELS, ------ Vice President. 

E. J. PARMER, ------ Treasurer- 

P. C. PRENTISS, - . - - - - - Secretary. 
G. E. HERRICK, ------ Counsel 

X>IHEOTOH!S. 

J. D. ROCKEPELLER, W. C. SCOPIELD, 

A. B % STONE, C. C. COBB, 

E. J. FARMER, J. V. PAINTER, 

D. P. EELLS, H. CHISHOLM, 

R. L. CHAMBERLAIN. 



The Company own, in fee simple, free from all incum- 
brance, a large tract of land, all of which is borable 
territory, situated in Venango County, Pa„ in what m 
believed to be a part of 

THE GREAT OIL BASIN, 

of which Oil Creek is the central line. 

They have two wells, down each to the depth of flve^ 
hundred feet, with SPLENDID SHOW OP OIL, both of 
which are about to be tested, and are making prepara- 
tions for sinking a third. 

A limited number of shares are now offered for sale. 
Subscription books open at Banking House of 

FARMER & PAINTER, 
145 Superior St., - - Cleveland, ©* 

where all particulars may be obtained. 



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